S is for Salvation
by ShadowsOnTheMoon
Summary: In the aftermath of the fallout at the gala, the girls must somehow find a way to pull their lives back together and move on. But the past keeps coming back to haunt them, and in the shadows an even more dangerous threat is looming. Trusting anyone is a risk, and doing so might just cost someone their life... but not doing so may have even more dire consequences.
1. One month later

**Well, I'm back. Miss me?  
This is, of course, the sequel to 'A is for Arlene' - so if you haven't read that first, you might want to go ahead and do that so this story makes more sense. I haven't quite finished writing it yet, but I promised you I'd start publishing by the end of the month, so here's the first chapter. I'll leave this up for a few days, so I can get some feedback on it and finish writing the rest, and then I'll be back to updating regularly. Oh, and there's a poll on my profile about this story, so if anyone went and did that I'd really appreciate it; I think I know which way I'm going to go but other opinions are always welcome.  
So. Not much else to say about this one. It pretty much explains everything you need to know. Reviews, as always, are very welcome. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of 'S is for Salvation'.**

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It had only been a month, but it felt like a lifetime. A month since Aria's best friend had betrayed her, coming clean about the murder she'd committed and the efforts she'd made to cover it up. A month since her friend had held a knife to her throat, since she'd threatened to kill her if they tried to turn her in. A month since they'd had to run from the police to save their own skins. Though the visible scars had faded, she still felt torn up inside.

She, Emily, and Hanna were sitting at their usual lunch table, trying to ignore the empty chair that served as a reminder that the fourth member of their group had been a traitor. After that night Spencer, Mona, and Toby had fled; nobody had heard from them since. The girls hadn't even received any –A texts, which was both a relief and cause for concern. It either meant that the A-Team had given up, or that they were planning something even worse for them. And if Aria knew Spencer – which at one point she'd thought she had – she wasn't likely to give up so easily.

Emily and Hanna were currently engaged in a lively discussion about the latest episode of their new soap opera obsession, and Aria was sitting across from them, enjoying the light-heartedness.

"You can't still seriously like Milson after he slept with Catrina, can you?" Emily asked, indignant.

"He didn't know it was her!" Hanna protested. "He thought it was Dina."

"They may be twins but he should still have been able to tell them apart." Emily pouted, getting too heavily invested in the conversation. She was, as Hanna had told them time and again, 'shipping so hard she's going to crash into an iceberg'. Emily turned to Aria. "Back me up here. What do you think?"

Aria twirled a piece of lettuce around her fork, looking at her two best – and pretty much only - friends. She grinned. "You're both dorks."

"Hey!" Hanna said, mock-offended, and flicked a piece of cucumber at her.

Aria ducked, and the cucumber flew over her head. She turned to watch its path, and with horrified eyes saw it crash into the person behind her. The girl, on her way over to her own table, stiffened. The cucumber fell to the ground, and the girl stayed still.

Hanna hesitated, and then said, "Sorry, Jenna. I didn't -"

"Hanna," Jenna said, her face surprisingly expressive given she was still wearing her dark glasses. "Still not big on the salad, huh? That's a shame."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily demanded, her playful fight with Hanna forgotten in the face of a real enemy. Aria slid back in her seat, watching things progress. She found it interesting that Jenna was normally civil to Emily, who in turn was always snippy with her – which, for sweet, lovely Em, was strange.

"It's not supposed to mean anything." Jenna shrugged. "I'll see you later, girls."

The others watched as she left, bumping into a table and a chair on her way. Aria always felt a little uncomfortable when Jenna said things like 'see you later' or 'it's good to see you', and she'd done so for as long as the other girl had been blind. But now Jenna could see again, only nobody aside from Aria, Hanna, and Emily knew. And that just made it that much more uncomfortable.

Aria turned back to her friends. Emily was still watching Jenna, but Hanna was looking down at her plate with a grim expression. Before Aria had a chance to ask what was wrong, Hanna got to her feet, said a quick farewell, and marched off. She dumped the rest of her food – it had over half left – in the trash on the way, not looking back.

"Is she okay?" Aria asked Emily, suddenly worried for her friend. For the past couple of weeks Hanna had been quieter than usual, more withdrawn, and she'd stopped hanging out with them as much. Once she would have told them what was going on, but now she just deflected any questions with a half-hearted smile.

Emily turned to see Hanna disappearing down the hall. She sighed. "I don't think any of us are okay, Aria," she said quietly. "Not after…"

After that first day, when they'd talked over everything that had happened, they'd tried not to mention it. The entire A-Team – Spencer, Mona, and Toby – had completely disappeared. Admittedly Aria and the girls hadn't tried very hard to look for them, but they'd stopped seeing them at school or around town. That either meant they were lying very low, or they were actually gone.

Every time Aria thought of Spencer, her heart ached. She kept wondering if it was something she'd done, if she'd somehow pushed Spencer into this. If there was anything she could have done to prevent it. Her logical side reminded her that it had been about Ali, not her, but it didn't stop her from feeling the heavy weight of guilt. She felt like she should have done more for her friend, although that lead to her questioning whether Spencer ever really _was_ her friend. She'd always stop when she reached that point in her thought process, because she didn't want to contemplate whether it was more tragic if Spencer had been her friend or if she hadn't.

Aria opened her mouth to reply, but Emily's cell went off. Even though they hadn't heard from –A in a month, it didn't stop them from being nervous. Emily read the message, then glanced up at Aria. "It's not from –A," she said, and Aria felt herself relax. "But I do have to go."

"Oh."

Emily was already standing up, and Aria barely had time to say goodbye before her friend had hurried into the building. Aria picked at a bread roll, trying not to let herself overanalyze it. So her friends were distant. Maybe they were hiding things, but it wasn't like she'd never kept secrets from them. If they wanted to talk, they could, but she wasn't going to push. After Spencer's betrayal her confidence had been shattered; she no longer trusted her own judgment, and, to some extent, her friends either. She hated that she still doubted them, but she knew she had to be cautious in order to stay safe.

It was times like these, when she was alone, three empty chairs around her, that her mind wandered to that place she tried not to allow it to go. It was times like these when she wondered what Spencer was doing. As soon as the thought crossed her mind she firmly pushed it away, picked up her tray, and left the table.

If only it was that easy to leave the memories behind.

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"Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

Spencer turned at the sound and saw Mona coming into the room, carrying three cups of coffee and a paper bag. She set these down on the low table in front of the couch where Spencer was currently sitting, ignoring the fact that the other girl rolled her eyes at that remark. Spencer gathered some of the pieces of paper that were strewn across the table, sorted them into a pile (alphabetically by subject heading, of course), and moved them out of the way.

"Toby!" she called, and a moment later the blue-eyed boy appeared from the next room; he paused at the doorway, stretched his arms, and let out a luxurious yawn. "Were you sleeping _again_?"

He came and sat down next to her, and Mona sat on the chair across the table. Spencer opened the paper bag and pulled out three sandwiches, which she distributed among them. Toby took a bite of his, leaning back against the couch and wrapping his free arm around Spencer's shoulders.

"This is good," he said, dipping his head to indicate the sandwich. "Where'd you get it?"

"The bakery down the road," Mona replied, taking a sip of coffee. "Not the one on the corner, the one by the post office."

As Spencer listened to them discuss the food, she marvelled at how comfortable all of this was. She, Mona, and Toby had been in this dingy motel for a month now, and it was almost like they'd become family. They bickered, they argued about a lot of things that didn't matter at all, and there was still some residual tension over the failure of their last grand plan, but she felt that in a way they did care about each other. She and Toby loved each other, of course, but she even found herself not only tolerating but enjoying Mona's company.

After that night, she'd skipped school for the two remaining weeks until the nearest break. Then she'd made up some story to her parents about staying with friends in Philly, and she'd spent the two weeks of vacation holed up here with Mona and Toby, trying to plan their next move.

None of her 'friends' had contacted her, but she hadn't expected them to. After what she'd done she understood that they'd want nothing to do with her. At first she'd assumed she'd be okay with that, but as the days wore on she began to miss their company. She was reasonably confident that this was just because she'd been accustomed to seeing them every day, and that the feeling would wear off soon. It would have to, or it would make the next part of their plan so much more difficult.

"And to answer your question," Toby said, bringing Spencer's thoughts back into the present moment, "yes, I was sleeping. But it's not like there's much else to do here."

"I'm sorry," she said, resting her hand on his and meeting his eyes. "I know it sucks being here, but our exile is almost over."

His eyes lit up at the prospect. "The plans are coming along well, then?" he asked, picking up the pile of paper and flicking through.

Spencer nodded, flipping her black hood up in response to a cold draught that had slipped through the cracks in the door. The room was dark, slightly moldy, and smelled faintly of alcohol, but it was home for now. It was good enough, too; it was out of the way, it was cheap, and it was convenient. Still, she found herself missing their old lair back in Rosewood; after they'd been found out they'd had to clear everything out of there and take off.

"It's almost time to start putting them into action, don't you think?" Mona asked, regarding Spencer calmly over the rim of her cup of coffee. Her black fingernails curled around the cup, something almost predatory in the action. Spencer was glad, not for the first time, that the dark-haired girl was on her side.

"We've almost got everything we need," Spencer said, snuggling closer to Toby, "which means it's almost time for us to go back."

"Who's going to go back first?" Toby asked, putting the pile of papers down so he could wrap his arms around Spencer, who closed her eyes in contentment as he gently stroked her hair. Mona tried not to roll her eyes at them.

"I think we all know," Mona said. Spencer opened her eyes and looked at her quizzically. "I mean, school starts again tomorrow, and it's going to be suspicious if you miss any more."

Spencer pulled herself into an upright position, but stayed enveloped in Toby's arms. She sighed. "My parents will kill me if I miss any more class," she agreed.

"So I guess that's it," Toby said. "We're going back."

"I don't know if you should come with me, Toby." Spencer chewed on her thumbnail, thinking. "I mean, if we all arrive in this big flurry of activity, I think the girls are going to notice."

"Don't we _want_ them to notice?" Mona pointed out.

"Well, yes. But not right away."

"So what are you thinking?" Toby asked her. "Send someone in to do some recon?"

"Something like that."

Mona finished her coffee and tossed the cup into the trash without taking her eyes off Spencer and Toby. They heard the gentle thud of the cup landing perfectly in the trash can, and Mona gave a small self-satisfied smile. "So Spencer," she said, her smile widening, "how do you feel about a little trip to Rosewood?"

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**So, what did you think? Interested in reading more?  
I hope to see you all next chapter. ;)**


	2. Guess who's bAck

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone! It's great to see some of my regulars as well as some new faces. Oh, and thank you to the people who responded to the poll - I've decided to go with longer chapters with included flashbacks, which seems to work better anyway. I've just about finished writing this so from here on out I'll be updating just about every day. This story has been incredibly fun to write, and I'm excited to have you all read it. So don't forget to review and let me know what you think. See you next chapter!**

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_She'd known from the start that she couldn't do this alone. Ambitious as she was, this was too big an endeavor to embark upon solo. She thought about asking one of the girls to help her, but that would probably be too risky. They were all scared of Ali; Spencer was the only one who could stand up to her. If she asked any of the girls to help her go after Ali, they were just as likely to take Ali's side and tell her that Spencer was –A. She couldn't risk that._

_For a couple of weeks she was quiet, cautiously watching her peers. She needed someone who had a grudge against Ali, who had so much anger towards her that they'd be willing to bend some moral lines in order to get what they wanted. For a while she considered Lucas, but in the end she realized that he lacked the kind of backbone she was looking for. But he still hated Ali, and maybe he could be useful later on._

_Eventually Mona presented herself as the only logical choice. Spencer sensed that she had a strong personality, something that could blossom if she stopped letting people walk all over her. And if helping her blossom meant gaining an advantage in what she had deemed the war against Alison, she was all for it._

_She started out by sending Mona a message. She had nothing on Mona yet – she'd been focusing on Alison – but she had to trust that curiosity would be enough to get Mona to show up. Sure enough, while Spencer was waiting in the library after school that day, the door creaked open and in walked Mona. She looked around the library, but Spencer, as usual, was the only one there._

_Spencer met Mona's eyes, then stood up and very purposefully walked between two of the shelves and waited. A moment later Mona appeared, looking a little like a scared mouse, and Spencer half-expected her to skitter off again. But Mona took a deep breath and walked forward._

_"Are you the person I'm looking for?" Mona asked._

_"Actually, I think you're the one _I'm_ looking for," Spencer said, enjoying the way Mona's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Mona, I have a proposition for you."_

_Mona listened in silence as Spencer explained her plan. The silence continued long after Spencer finished speaking. It stretched on for so long that Spencer was beginning to think she'd made a mistake, and she was already thinking of ways to pass this off as a joke. But then Mona shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hoisted her backpack further up her shoulders, and grinned._

_"You don't have to ask me again," she said. "I'm in."_

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Tuesday afternoon, Aria was standing near her locker, Hanna and Emily nearby. They were all skittish; she'd half-expected Spencer to come back to school and act like nothing had happened. But she hadn't showed, which meant that for now at least they were in the clear. A couple of teachers had asked them if they knew where Spencer was, and they said they didn't. That was partly true, at least, because they honestly had no idea where she'd fled to. But they didn't tell them what they did know: that Spencer had killed Alison, and tortured them for over a year.

Hanna and Emily were talking about going to see a movie that afternoon, and the mention of her name dragged her into the conversation.

"Sorry?" she said, closing her locker and turning to them. Then she realized that the book she'd put in there was one she'd need to study with that night, so she opened the locker back up and pulled it out.

"We asked if you wanted to come to the movies with us," Hanna repeated.

Emily, however, had noticed Aria's inattention. "Are you okay?" she asked as they headed down the hall, dodging a flock of freshmen who were giggling over a magazine and another one who'd dropped what looked like the entire contents of their purse on the ground and was now hurriedly trying to grab it all up.

"I'm fine." Aria didn't even let herself consider the question. She wasn't sure she was capable of giving an honest answer to it anymore. They reached the doors, and Hanna and Emily turned one way; Aria turned the other. "I'd love to come with you guys, but I'm going over to Ezra's."

Hanna raised her eyebrows suggestively, and despite Emily's warning nudge she grinned and said, "Say hi for us."

"Hanna, grow up," Aria said playfully. "We're not going to… you know. We're just going to watch a movie and talk and stuff."

"Right," Hanna said. "I'm sure there'll be a lot of _talking_ going on."

Emily grabbed Hanna's arm and started dragging her off. She turned back at the bottom of the steps and said, "Have fun with Ezra."

Aria smiled in response, waiting until her friends were out of sight before she let the smile fade. Even though she'd barely spent any time with Ezra this past week because he was busy with a new tutoring job, the thought of seeing him couldn't raise her spirits for longer than a moment or two. She felt like the halls of Rosewood High were haunted, and she couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of everything that had happened.

With a visible effort she shrugged the thoughts away and headed down the steps. Halfway down she almost bumped into someone, and she stepped aside automatically and went to apologize. Then she realized who it was.

"Oh, hi Lucas," she said with as much cheerfulness as she could muster. He'd been acting strange for the past couple of months, and although she wasn't as close to him as Hanna was, she was still concerned. "How are you?"

He went pale, like one of the metaphorical ghosts had materialized right in front of him. "Hi Aria," he stammered, and started to hurry up the steps.

"Wait!" Aria called, and he turned back around. She noticed the hunted look in his eyes, one she was well familiar with; she saw it every morning in the mirror. It was the look of someone who never felt safe, who was always running from something. "I know we're not that close, but you're Hanna's friend, and… well, I was just wondering if you're okay."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, amidst the shouts and cries of happy students finally released from their daytime cells (which the teachers optimistically referred to as 'classrooms', like people would actually learn in them).

When it became clear he wasn't going to reply, she prompted, "So, um, are you?"

He surveyed her, his dark eyes searching her face. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, and then his expression became more guarded. "You shouldn't be asking me that," he said, and before she had a chance to say anything else he dashed off up the steps and into the building.

Aria stood in stunned silence until her cell went off, making her jump. When she read the message – it was Ezra, asking if she'd be there soon – she chided herself for being so on edge. Everything was fine. –A – _Spencer_, she reminded herself – was gone.

When she got to Ezra's she found that he'd already got the popcorn ready and was setting up the movie. He paused in the middle of brewing some tea, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a kiss.

"I've missed you," he said as she finally pulled away.

She smiled, watching as he turned back to the tea. She didn't even really like tea, but the one he made was almost as bitter as coffee but apparently a lot healthier. He'd kept making it for her until she'd finally come around, and it had become 'their' drink.

"I miss you too," she murmured as she made herself comfortable on his couch. She hadn't told him about what had happened with Spencer; she didn't want to put that kind of burden on him. The only ones who knew the truth were the A-Team, the girls, and Caleb, because there'd been no way around telling him. But the guilt of keeping this secret, as well as all the awful feelings that knowledge of the secret produced in her, had made her feel more distant. She had a feeling Ezra knew she was pulling away, although she tried her best to hide it.

"So what movie are we watching?" she called, but at that moment her phone went off.

Ezra's reply was lost in the noise of blood pounding in her ears as she read the message. Her heartbeat quickened until she thought it would burst out of her chest, and her hands shook so much that she had to throw the phone down on the table and look away. But when she closed her eyes the message glowed against her eyelids, painfully bright and demanding not to be ignored.

**I'm back, bitch. Miss me? –A**

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Tuesday morning, Spencer was in the motel with Toby, lying on his bed. Mona had gone off to get breakfast for them all; theoretically they were meant to take turns getting food, but Mona ended up doing most of the shopping. Spencer had a feeling it was because she didn't like being around Toby and Spencer when they were in the mood, which, to be fair, was a lot of the time. Spencer lay curled up against Toby, listening to his heartbeat. She couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep, but she didn't mind either way. His presence was enough to calm her.

The calmness didn't last long, because a few minutes later the door swung open and then slammed closed, letting in a gust of wind that ruffled the moth-eaten curtains. Spencer stayed as long as she could, but she knew they had too much to do for her to be able to justify spending any more time in bed. She nudged Toby.

"Hey," she said softly, watching his eyes flicker open. "Mona's back."

He groaned. "Already?"

Spencer was already out of bed and pulling her clothes on, and she was heading for the main room by the time Toby had even managed to wake up properly. Mona was putting the groceries away in the kitchen, and Spencer silently helped. They'd been working together for a long time, and they'd grown used to each other's company, comfortable working in silence. By the time they'd finished Toby had emerged from the bedroom, and the three of them settled themselves in their customary positions around the table: Spencer and Toby on the couch, Mona on the chair across from them.

The table was littered with pieces of paper, photographs, diagrams, and a few items: the things they'd taken from Ali's grave. Spencer picked up the pile of postcards and flicked through them, waiting for Mona to talk. Lately Mona had been taking the lead a lot, and that was fine by the others. After the debacle at the gala Spencer was content to take a back seat for the time being.

"I think it's time," Mona said. "There's not much else we can do from this kind of distance."

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Toby turned to Spencer, the concern in his eyes making her irrationally irritated. "Those girls were -"

"They were never my friends," Spencer interrupted. "They were a means to an end, that's all. I'm fine."

"Good." Mona tilted her head, giving Spencer a look that would make most other people flinch or at the very least feel self-conscious. But Spencer met her gaze evenly. Satisfied, Mona turned her attention to Toby. "You know what you have to do?"

He nodded. "I'll start looking this afternoon."

"Let us know if you find anything," Mona said. "In the meantime, Spencer…"

"I know." Spencer got to her feet and pulled a duffel bag out from under the couch; it was the same one she'd had packed for days, full of essentials, in case they were discovered and had to make a quick getaway. But now she took it into her room and started packing properly. It didn't take long, since she'd come here with almost nothing, and a few minutes later she came back out to the main room. Mona and Toby stopped talking abruptly as she walked in.

"You're ready?" Mona asked, and Spencer nodded. "Great."

Spencer swung the bag over her shoulder and headed for the door, pausing only to give Toby a passionate farewell kiss which Mona tactfully pretended not to see. She stopped again at the door, turning back to her two accomplices. "I'll keep in touch," she said, and then she flipped her hood over her face and slipped out the door.

It was chilly outside, but it was a short walk to the car. She tossed the bag in the back, climbed into the driver's seat, and let herself hesitate for only a moment before she put the keys in the ignition and started the engine. As she drove back to Rosewood her mind was a mess of thoughts. This hiatus had actually been refreshing, in a way; Mona wasn't the easiest to get along with, but she'd had Toby. The seclusion had been good for her, and she'd enjoyed having nothing to do other than work on her plans. Now that she didn't have to pretend to be friends with the girls she had a lot more time to let her darker side flourish. She'd been holding it back for years, trying to keep it in check so that nobody would recognize her true nature. But now that was out in the open, and she didn't have to hide anymore.

Still, she would have to be very careful once she got back to Rosewood. While the plan wasn't for her to hide her presence from them – not for long, anyway – she wasn't quite ready to shout it out from the rooftops yet. In her time away the girls could have become more coordinated, more organized, and if she was careless about this they may well make trouble for her.

As she pulled into her driveway an hour later, she reminded herself that she was on the right side of this. There were only three real members of each group: Aria, Emily, and Hanna, against her, Mona, and Toby. It seemed like an even match, but she knew that she had the advantage. The girls had those pesky consciences holding them back; their actions were always based on what was best for them _and_ those around them. Spencer only had to worry about herself, and to a lesser extent Mona and Toby as well. That made things so much simpler.

She sat in the car for a few minutes. For today, her only task was to settle back in and get ready for the others to arrive. They'd also agreed that she should do whatever she could to shake up the other girls. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Aria, and then she leaned back in her seat and smiled to herself. Yes, she was back, and ready for round two.

And there was no way she was losing this time.

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	3. PrepAration

**Hi again, guys. Forgot to mention last chapter, this story sort of has a theme song: Set You Straight by Digital Daggers. Great song, very fitting. Go look it up if you're so inclined.  
SwanQueen4055 - thank you!  
Runawaybaby555 - thank you so much. I did take inspiration from the A-Team interaction in the 3B finale; much as Mona enjoys her work, she could do without the Spoby PDA. And to be honest I've missed this too; I love updating daily and hearing from my regulars after each chapter. Hope this one is to your liking.  
Sgdp1261 - I can tell you this much, you're right to be suspicious of Lucas. He's hiding something - does anyone have any ideas what it could be? And out of the four girls I've always felt that Spencer had the most potential to be 'evil' (except maybe Aria) - I have a feeling that without her friends to ground her, she could very well become calculating, cold, and maybe even dangerous.  
insertnameherex - thanks for the review. It's great to know some of the readers from A is for Arlene have made their way over here. This story is definitely going to be big on the action, so I hope you like it.  
Forever Courage - thanks! Don't worry, updates will be regular (although I may be persuaded to update more frequently if I get enough reviews).  
So. Here's the next chapter. Don't forget to review. :)**

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_One of the many things Spencer prided herself on was her ability to remain in control of any situation. She had a comeback, a plan, a strategy for everything. When she was caught off-guard she'd recover quickly, usually with some witty comment. But one cold winter night, somebody finally got the better of her._

_She was walking home from the store, pulling her jacket tighter around her and tucking a few bars of chocolate into her pockets. She'd had a late night craving, and she had foolishly assumed that it would be warm enough outside to make the walk enjoyable. She was sorely wrong on that point, but as she bit into a Hershey's bar, she didn't care. The chocolate made it worth it._

_She was only a block from her house when someone came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around so quickly she dropped the rest of her chocolate bar. She frowned at it, and then looked up to glare at the person who was the cause of it._

_"Spencer." Toby Cavanaugh was watching her, his gaze strangely intense._

_She stared at him. They'd hardly spoken before; she barely knew him, but she knew his reputation. Why on earth was he talking to her? "Toby? What -"_

_"I know you killed her."_

_This was the first time in her life that Spencer had been rendered entirely speechless. She froze in place, her mind whirling, unable to make a sound. She opened her mouth a couple of times, but no words came out. How the heck could he know that?_

_"You're not even going to deny it?" he asked, seeming surprised at her reaction._

_She swallowed, finding her voice. "What… what are you talking about?"_

_He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Alison. I know you killed her."_

_"I don't…" She shook her head mutely. Nobody was supposed to know. She'd covered her tracks, and she was still working hard on a way to pin it on someone else. How could Toby have figured it out? And if he knew, why was he talking to her when he should have just gone to the cops?_

_"I knew it," he said gleefully. "I wasn't quite sure, but you just… you proved my hunch correct."_

_She had a feeling that even if she tried to argue, it would be too late. He believed she'd killed Ali – and she had, of course. But he hadn't told anyone; she'd be in jail right now if he had. So that meant he wanted something. She wasn't above making deals, as long as she knew she had the power._

_"What do you want, Toby?"_

_He paused for a second, just long enough for her to come up with a hundred horrible scenarios: he wanted money, he was going to ask her to do something illegal, he was going to reveal some terrible secret about himself, he was going to threaten to go to the police if she didn't do exactly what he asked._

_But then, to her surprise, he smiled._

_"I want to congratulate you."_

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Aria had thought she'd be prepared for this. She'd known, deep down, that Spencer would come back. There was no way she'd just disappear after such a catastrophic failure. She was a Hastings, which meant that she couldn't stand to lose; and this was all a big game to her. But she'd been gone for so long that Aria had almost let herself believe that maybe this was the end of it. Maybe the A-Team had disbanded, and the girls would be free to live their lives. No such luck.

She kept re-reading the text all throughout the morning, trying to figure out which particular member sent it to her. It didn't really matter, she supposed – if one of them had come back, it probably meant that all of them had. She wasn't sure if it would be worse if it was Spencer or one of the others, but she had a feeling she knew who it was anyway. The message was sent to her only, which made it personal. And the only member who seemed to have a real personal grudge against her was the tall brunette girl into whose arms Aria had cried countless times, whose voice had soothed her when she had nightmares at sleepovers, whose quick wit and dry sense of humor had diffused many a tense situation.

She couldn't think like that. She snapped her phone shut and made her way over to her usual lunch table, trying to ignore the way her hands were shaking. She was partway through opening her bottle of juice when Hanna showed up, Caleb in tow. The pair greeted her as they sat down, deep in conversation. Emily arrived a few moments later, looking flustered, but a smile crept onto her face as Paige walked over. The two had started dating about two weeks ago, and although Aria still had her reservations about the swimmer (Paige had, after all, tried to drown Emily once) she made Emily happy, and she needed that right now.

Aria fiddled with her necklace while the others talked, trying not to let herself feel too lonely. Emily and Paige were discussing the upcoming swim meet, and Hanna and Caleb seemed to be in some kind of debate over what they wanted to cook for dinner that night. Although Aria loved Ezra with all her heart, it was times like this when she wished things were different. She'd get to see him that afternoon, but sometimes that wasn't enough. Sometimes she wanted to be able to sit with him at lunch, to talk to him about school without him feeling like he needed to tutor her, to see him every day and not have to hide the fact that they were dating.

"Earth to Aria," Emily said, snapping her fingers.

Aria tuned back in. "Yeah?"

"I said, have you done that English assignment yet?" Emily repeated.

"Uh, yeah." Aria thought for a moment, and then realized that she hadn't. "Wait, what assignment?"

Emily laughed. "I'll take that as a no then."

Meanwhile Hanna had torn her eyes away from Caleb for long enough to notice that something was up. "You okay, Aria?" she asked.

"Yeah." She tried to shrug it off, but she knew her friends weren't buying it.

"Hey Caleb, can you go get me a soda?" Hanna asked.

Caleb glanced from Hanna to Aria, then turned back to his girlfriend with a knowing look. He seemed to consider arguing – ever since that night he'd been adamant that he was going to protect Hanna from everything, and was to be 'told immediately if that bitch shows her face again' – but then decided against it. "Sure. Paige, you wanna come with?"

Paige looked up, startled. "I – yeah, of course. You want anything, Em?"

"A soda would be great." Emily squeezed her hand, then watched as her girlfriend trailed the hacker out of the cafeteria. As soon as they were gone Emily turned back to Aria, the smile fading and her eyes darkening with worry. "What is it?"

"What?" Aria looked from Hanna to Emily, who had almost identical looks of concern. There was no point in trying to deny it. Her shoulders slumped and she picked at a spot on her skirt to avoid looking at her friends. "Have you guys gotten any texts from –A?"

Out of the corner of her eye Aria saw the other girls shake their heads. Her stomach sank. That meant it was just her then. –A – _Spencer_ – was targeting her specifically, and the last time that had happened she'd almost killed her. Suppressing a shudder, Aria raised her gaze to her friends.

"Why?" Hanna asked, suddenly suspicious. "Have you?"

She thought about lying, but she didn't want to go back to the secrecy of the past. She took a deep breath and said, "Yeah."

"What did it say?" Emily's eyes were so wide that Aria was pretty sure she could comfortably rest a teacup on them (as she thought that she made a mental note to ask Ezra to stop making so much tea).

Mutely she handed over her phone, and watched as the other girls read the message. Emily handed her cell back to her and asked tentatively, "What does this mean? Is Spencer… back?"

"She's not back at school," Hanna said quickly. "We'd have known by now if she was."

"It might not even be Spencer," Aria said. "There were other people torturing us, remember."

"Don't remind me." Hanna picked at her salad, then pushed the plate away with a look of distaste. "I've got enough to worry about without having to watch out for those psychos."

"Guys -" Aria started, but at that moment Caleb and Paige came back. Paige had even bought Aria a soda, which she handed to her with a smile. Okay, so maybe she was growing on her a bit. The girls fell silent, until Caleb started talking about some new show he was watching, and the others gratefully joined in. Although Caleb knew what had happened, Paige was still in the dark, and the girls wanted to keep it that way.

For the rest of the day Aria forced herself not to think about Spencer, or the rest of the team, or that message. It wouldn't do her any good, and the tension would probably cause another one of those headaches she'd been getting lately. Instead she kept reminding herself that today she'd get to see Ezra, get to collapse into his arms and let him kiss her and not have to worry about being tormented by an omniscient presence.

On the way to his house she stopped to pick up some coffee. She and the girls had started frequenting a place called Java Jive, which was a little bit out of the way but didn't have any bad memories associated with it. They'd never been there with Spencer, so there was no empty chair, no space where their fourth musketeer should have been. It was a space just for the three of them, the ones who had stuck by each other.

And yet it had a strange effect on her every time she went there. Because it was the one place they went where Spencer had never been, she was still reminded of her. She would imagine what it would be like if Spencer was there, if the four of them were really friends and could hang out and not have to worry about anything more pressing than exams or clothes or boys. And every time she went there, she found herself having to keep repeating _It could never happen, Spencer betrayed us and she's not coming back. It's over._

Almost as if the universe was taunting her, the second she stepped out of the shop she caught sight of a tall brunette in stylish clothes. Exactly the sort of thing Spencer would wear, complete with the blazer. She stopped in the doorway, her heart racing, but then the girl turned around and it wasn't her. Of course it wasn't her. And even if it was, that would be bad news rather than good.

She sighed, heading for her car, but then her eyes drifted across the street and locked onto someone else. Someone in a black hoodie and black jeans, hood drawn over the face so she couldn't see who it was. Part of her knew this would be another false alarm, but the rest of her argued that if she didn't at least try to find out, she wouldn't forgive herself. So she set the coffee down on the nearest table and quickly crossed the street, ducking behind a crowd of people as she trailed the black hoodie.

They went halfway down the block, and Aria was just thinking of turning back when suddenly the person she was tailing ducked into a diner. Aria crept past the door and – surreptitiously, she hoped – peered in the window. For a minute or two the person was out of sight, and then they sat down at a booth across from the jukebox. Aria kept watching, burning with the desire to know who it was. In Rosewood a black hoodie usually only meant one thing.

She'd thought she was prepared for it, but when the person pulled back their hood, Aria felt her whole world crumbling around her. She stayed just long enough to be sure of it, and then she hurried away from the diner and back to her car. With trembling fingers she typed a quick message to Hanna and Emily: **Spencer's back**.

She was halfway to Ezra's before she realized she'd forgotten the coffees.

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"Just a coffee, thanks."

Spencer smiled at the waitress, who jotted down the order and then bustled off to serve another table. For a few minutes Spencer just sat there, picking some chipping nail polish off her fingers and waiting for the others to arrive. After a while she pulled her hood away from her face; secrecy didn't matter so much anymore. The girls knew who she was, and Aria at least knew she was back, although she had a feeling she'd probably told Emily and Hanna too. It wouldn't be too big a problem if the girls saw her, as long as they didn't see Mona and Toby – that part was meant to be a surprise.

Just as she finished her coffee the other two turned up, and she slid along the seat to give Toby room to sit beside her. Mona sat across from them, and once they'd ordered coffees for themselves the dark-haired girl leaned forward, clasping her hands and trying to tone down her excitement.

"What are you so happy about?" Spencer asked, unable to suppress a stirring of excitement in response to Mona's grin. That look usually meant something big was about to happen, and that at least would break the monotony. Spencer was itching to get out there and do something, to get back to her old tricks – and to do it right this time.

"I think we're just about ready to start phase one," Mona announced. "Tomorrow should work, right, Toby?"

He nodded, holding Spencer's hand under the table. No matter how long they were together, they still couldn't get enough of each other. He looked at their intertwined hands for a moment, then turned his attention to Mona. "The place I found is available now, so if I get in touch with my contact I can have a key by tomorrow afternoon."

Spencer perked up at this. "You found a place already?"

"Yeah." He pulled out a pen and scribbled an address down on a napkin, which he slid over to Spencer. "You can go and take a look if you want. It's small, out of the way, pretty low-key. Exactly what we need."

She folded up the napkin and put it in her pocket, then turned to Mona. "So does that mean you two are coming back?"

Mona confirmed this with a nod. "We'll go back tonight and pack up the rest of our things, but from what you've been telling us in your reports it sounds like the girls are in the right position for us to start this. And the sooner we get this ball rolling, the better."

"Great," Spencer said, genuinely excited at the prospect of getting back into the swing of things. She'd had too much spare time lately, too much time to think and reflect, and not enough actual intellectual stimulation. She was ready to get back in the game. "Is there anything else?"

"We need someone to get in touch with… our contact," Mona said, dabbing delicately at the edge of her mouth with a napkin. "We need him to do something for us."

"I can take care of that," Toby offered, already pulling out his cell. "Just tell me what to say."

Mona dictated the message and Toby copied it diligently, then sent it off. There was no response but they knew he'd got the message.

As the meeting wrapped up and they finished the last of their coffee, Spencer thought about how much everything had changed. Before the gala she would never have dared to meet Mona and Toby together in such a public place, but now she could afford to be more open about it. The girls knew whose side she was on, so as long as they didn't overhear any of their plans there was no danger. Although she'd thought it was fun before, having to hide her true intentions from her friends, this new dynamic was equally thrilling. She could be out in the open, and they couldn't do a thing to stop her. As long as she knew their secrets, she was safe.

Mona left first, claiming she was going to go and bring the car around, but Spencer had a feeling she just didn't want to be witness to her passionate farewell with Toby. They parted ways at the door, Toby heading for the car and Spencer for the street. She shot him one last backward glance as she turned around the corner, and was met with one of his soft smiles that took her breath away. She blew him a kiss and kept walking, looking every now and then at the napkin to make sure she was on the right track.

When she reached the house she wasn't sure at first that this was where she was supposed to be. But as she walked up the front path she caught sight of a sign: a small _A_ carved into the trunk of a tree by the side of the path. Toby must have carved it when he came here earlier to check it out. Their previous lair had been marked by a similar symbol, and it had been a source of great amusement that the girls had never figured it out. She skirted around the house, taking in the overgrown garden and the rickety porch, and she smiled to herself. This would do nicely.

Then she flipped her hood back up and moved away, blending into the shadows and disappearing into the night.

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**So. What did you think? Thoughts, theories? Compliments, criticisms?**


	4. Showtime

**You guys are the most dedicated, consistent reviewers. I love it.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks, as always.  
Runawaybaby555 - to be honest writing this story sort of shattered MY heart too. I always knew how it was going to go, but it was still almost painful to write. Although I admit that writing in evil Spoby WAS quite fun.  
Forever Courage - thanks for the guess! I won't tell you if you're right, but I will say that Wren does appear in this story later on.  
insertnameherex - I actually love evil Spence. She's such fun to write. But I'm always secretly shipping Sparia, so even if they're not on the same side, they're definitely going to have a lot of interaction.  
Sgdp1261 - I think Spence thinks it's cool too. She thinks of herself as untouchable at the moment, because, really, what could the other girls do without getting themselves in a lot of trouble too?  
All right. Enjoy the chapter. :)**

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_Two months after Toby had accused Spencer of killing Alison, which she had reluctantly admitted to doing, she approached him. They'd spoken several times since, and she was now reasonably confident that he wasn't bluffing. He'd hated Ali with a passion, and after all she'd done to him Spencer wasn't surprised. And that made him the perfect addition to her A-Team._

_She asked to meet him one day in the park, and when she turned up he was sharing a sandwich with a curious squirrel. She watched, amused, until the squirrel suddenly took off and Toby, watching its path, noticed her._

_"Spencer," he greeted her, waving her over._

_She sat on the bench beside him, and for a few minutes they were silent. He was waiting for her to speak, and she was trying to work out what to say. It wasn't an easy thing to ask, even though she was fairly certain of his reaction. But there was still a risk of him reacting badly, and if that happened she could lose everything. He knew she'd killed Alison, and if he could figure out a way to prove it, he could bring her down._

_"I have a proposition for you," she said tentatively._

_His eyes snapped up to hers. As best she could figure it, the look he gave her was somewhere between cautiousness and confusion. "Yeah?"_

_She chose her words carefully, knowing that it wouldn't help to rush into it, and any misunderstanding could be fatal. "What Alison did to you… the thing with Jenna…"_

_"You mean what the girls did to me," Toby corrected harshly. "Alison wasn't alone that night."_

_"Right." Her heart leapt; that was the perfect response. She knew that Toby felt she'd redeemed herself in killing Alison, but he still had a grudge against the other girls. She could work with that. "What if I told you there was a way to get back at them?"_

_He inclined his body towards her, his eyes shining. "I'm listening."_

_She quickly explained what she and Mona had been doing: the messages to Ali, planning to do the same to the girls. "So we'd frame them for Ali's murder," Spencer finished, anxiously awaiting his reaction._

_He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "So you're asking me to work with you and Mona to torment your friends and eventually get one of them arrested for Alison's murder?"_

_She swallowed. It sounded worse when you put it like that. "Yeah. But I mean, if you don't -"_

_"Are you kidding? You're giving me a way to get back at the girls who ruined my life. Of course I'm in."_

_Now it was Spencer's turn to smile. "Great. Welcome to the team, Toby."_

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Aria tapped her fingers nervously against the desk. It was Thursday morning, and she was waiting as patiently as she could for her friends. Unfortunately with her jangled nerves and overactive imagination, the patience she could manage was minimal at best. She was on the verge of getting up to start pacing the room when the door flew open and Emily came in. Before they had a chance to exchange a word Hanna slipped through the door, closed it behind her, and faced the other two. For a long moment no one spoke. Aria got up and went over to the window, then pulled the blinds closed and turned to face her friends.

"Spencer's back," she said. After her text last night they'd decided to leave everything until today, to give them time to think things through so they wouldn't overreact.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, her face tightening. It had been hard for her to be betrayed like that; she was loyal and incredibly protective, and to be so wrong about someone, to have someone take advantage of her like that, made her feel not only insecure but quietly furious as well.

"Considering I saw her at a diner yesterday, yeah, I'm pretty sure." Aria folded her arms and let out a frustrated sigh. She'd naively hoped that they were past all this, but it was starting to feel like they'd never be free of the burden of the past.

"So Spencer's back in Rosewood," Hanna said, leaning against the nearest desk and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "And with that message you got yesterday, it's safe to say she's up to her old tricks."

For a split second Aria wanted to jump to her defense, to protest that Spencer wasn't behind this, but she knew it was no use. Given what Spencer had done, Aria had come to believe she was capable of anything, and seeing her in Rosewood on the same day the –A messages started up again couldn't be a coincidence.

"What do you think she wants?" Emily asked nervously.

Aria spread her hands wide. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Do you think…" Hanna shifted her weight, the way she always did when she was weighing options in her mind. "I mean, should we go to the police about it?"

"No," Aria said at once. "Hanna, we can't go down this road again. We already made this decision."

"Aria's right," Emily said. "Spencer knows _everything_ about us. If we turn her in… well, that'd be the end for us too."

"And it's not only what she knows about us," Aria pointed out, "it's what she could do to us. She could screw with the evidence, set us up, make us look guilty of something we didn't even do. She's done it before, and I wouldn't put it past her now."

"So what do we do?" After that night Hanna had started pulling away. Most of the time she refused to even say Spencer's name, and when the others brought it up she always shut down. Apparently her way of dealing with the betrayal was to pretend it never happened, although her expressions gave her away; whenever anyone mentioned the A-Team, Hanna's eye would twitch and she'd give a look not unlike the one Aria's dad used to get whenever Ezra's name was said.

"Is there anything we _can_ do?" Emily countered.

Although she hated to admit it, Aria knew that at this stage there wasn't much they could do. They just had to hope that whatever Spencer was planning, they'd be able to deal with it. The silence of the other girls was enough of an answer.

"Great," Emily said. "So we're sitting ducks."

Without waiting for a response she gathered up her bag and walked out of the room. Hanna and Aria exchanged an uneasy glance. It wasn't like Emily to be so dramatic, but with the stress of everything that had happened her reaction was understandable.

"So we just, what, wait?" Hanna asked.

Aria shrugged. "I guess that's all we can do."

The bell rang, signalling the start of class and the end of the conversation. The girls said their farewells and went their separate ways. Although she tried to ignore it, a thought kept coming back to her throughout the day. By the time school ended she'd made up her mind, and she worked hard not to let herself change it. She avoided Emily and Hanna, worried that if they knew what she was doing they'd try to stop her, and she was already in her car before she even let herself have second thoughts. Even then she pushed them away, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot with only a moment's hesitation.

She parked in front of the house and sat there for a few minutes, silently arguing with herself as she watched an elderly man walk his plump Dachshund down the street. They both looked happy, utterly content with life. She'd forgotten what that felt like. Just as she was putting the keys back in and preparing to leave, her phone went off. With a feeling of foreboding she read the message.

**You know what they say, Aria. Keep your friends close… or is that push them away until they try to kill you? -A**

She gritted her teeth and got out of the car. This had to end, now.

The door swung open a second after she knocked, but it wasn't who she was expecting.

"Oh," she said. "Hi Mrs Hastings."

"Aria!" Mrs Hastings smiled, genuinely happy to see her. "It's been so long since any of you girls have been over. I was worried you'd had a fight or something."

Aria swallowed, trying to think of a response.

"Anyway," Mrs Hastings went on, saving Aria from having to answer, "Spencer's not home right now. She was feeling a little under the weather so she went to the doctor's, but she'll be back soon. You're welcome to go and wait in her room, if you like."

"Thanks."

Aria stepped inside, trying not to let herself get overwhelmed by the flood of memories that hit her as soon as she was over the threshold. The sleepovers they'd had, sharing secrets and gossip. The study sessions they'd tried to have, which somehow always ended in something unproductive like watching a movie or having pillow fights. Even the fights they'd had, over silly things that didn't matter. None of it mattered now, because it had all been a lie anyway.

Spencer's room was exactly the way she remembered it. Neat, organized, all pastel colors and simple charm. But now it was all tainted with memories of the person who inhabited the room, of what she'd said and done, and Aria couldn't look at anything in the room without being reminded of it all. The trophies were no longer light-hearted reminders of Spencer's playfully competitive nature; they were signs they'd missed, signs that pointed to how determined she was to destroy their lives. The pictures weren't cheerful reminders of fun she'd had with her friends; they were just fake memories, reminders of how well she'd played them.

Aria felt sick just looking at them, but after a quick glance down the hall to make sure no one was around, she forced herself to start searching the room. She knew she had to talk to Spencer, and there was no way she'd attack her in her own house… would she?

But she also knew that Spencer probably wouldn't want to talk, and maybe the best way of figuring out what was going on would be to go through her things. She upended drawers and riffled through her closet, ran her hands under the mattress, even checked in the pillowcases. Each potential hiding place was empty. To the casual observer the room was nothing suspicious, just a typical teenage girl's sanctuary.

Frustrated, Aria sank to the bed, head in her hands, and tried to think. It was cut short by her phone going off, but this time it was only Hanna.

**You still up for helping me paint my room today?**

Aria smacked her forehead. She'd completely forgotten. She cast one last quick glance around the room and then replied.

**Sure, be right there.**

At least she still had some friends left.

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"Here we are," Toby announced, throwing open the door. Spencer and Mona followed him through, looking around at their new headquarters. It was slightly more upmarket than the motel they'd been staying in, though not by much.

Spencer took a lap around the room, noting everything from the splintering wood in the floor to the fraying curtains over the windows. It was exactly her style, or at least the style of her 'A persona', as she called it. If she was still Spencer Hastings, star student and loyal friend, model daughter and informed citizen, she wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. But she liked it. The dim lights, the dark wall panelling, all reminded her of how far she'd come and how dark she'd become, and she was perfectly fine with that.

"I like it," she said, turning back to the others.

Mona had given it a quick visual once-over and had now started unpacking the car. This would be where they'd set up all their games, their plans, their evidence. Mona had managed all of that, but Toby had brought the more practical things: a coffee maker, a toaster, a few items of food. Just in case they needed something while they were working here, or in case they needed to stay here overnight. It was always good to have somewhere to escape.

It took the best part of the day to set the place up. They had to arrange everything so that it was easily accessible, but also easily hidden or removed in case they had to make a quick getaway. Toby wanted to go for practicality, but the girls wanted to add a bit of creative flair to the place. This involved careful arrangement of the photographs and dolls, during which time Toby just sat on the couch drinking coffee and rolling his eyes at them.

When they were finished they sat down to admire their work. It was a different design to their old lair, more conservative, but still very much theirs. Now that the interior decorating was out of the way they had more important things to discuss.

"So we all know what we have to do tonight," Mona said, laying out a diagram of the plan. It wasn't strictly necessary to draw a diagram, since their plan was quite simple, but it was always fun to draw schematics and blueprints.

"I think we can manage it, yes," Spencer said. She hesitated, and then pulled a box out from under the table. She pushed it across the table, watching as Mona cautiously opened it.

"Spencer, what -?" she asked, and then she saw what was inside. She bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile, but she couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Spencer nodded. "I think it's for the best."

Toby rested his hand on her arm, his eyes flicking to the contents of the box. "Spencer, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." She squeezed his hand, then turned her eyes back to Mona. "You've earned it."

Mona was silent for a moment, and then she slowly dipped her head. "Thank you, Spencer."

"Don't mention it." Spencer got to her feet, dusting off her jeans, and reached for her bag. "In the meantime, I have a job to do."

"Good luck," Mona called as she walked to the door, "and keep in touch."

Spencer gave a mock salute, winked at Toby, and then stepped outside. It was only a short walk to her destination, but she wasn't sure that's where the target would be, so she climbed into her car and pulled out onto the main road. She parked outside the school, under the shade of what she hoped was a very concealing tree. She scanned the masses of students pouring out of the school, her eyes locking onto one in particular. Her eyes tracked Aria to the parking lot, and then locked onto her car as she drove away. She waited thirty seconds, then pulled out and started following her.

She wasn't one for tailing people. Normally Mona or Toby would do it, but they all had their specific targets today, and this was hers. Strictly speaking she didn't need to be following her quite this early, but she wanted to make sure she didn't miss anything. She started slowing down as they approached the Montgomery house, but to her surprise Aria didn't turn off there. Spencer sped up again, worried she was going to lose her. A couple of minutes later she let out a bark of laughter as she realized where they were going. Did Aria really think she could just _talk _to her?

She parked down the street from her house and watched as Aria sat in the car, hesitating. Spencer pulled out her cell and typed out a message that should be just enough to prompt her to make her move. She wasn't sure if it would be enough to scare her off or to encourage her to go in, but her question was answered as Aria marched up to the door. As she watched her mother let Aria in, strangely, some part of her wanted to follow her, to talk to her like they used to. But face-to-face contact wasn't part of the plan, and she had to stick to the schedule.

Aria was in there for almost half an hour. It was times like these that Spencer almost wished she wasn't part of this all. If she was just a bored high school student she could call her friends and hang out, or she could go shopping, or she could just go for a run. But she was on a covert mission, and that meant she had to sit still and be quiet and try not to get caught. Finally Aria came out, looking disappointed, and Spencer felt a rush of relief. She'd been reasonably confident she hadn't left anything incriminating in her room, but it was always possible that she'd missed something.

Before the night at the gala, she wouldn't have even entertained the thought that she could have overlooked anything. She'd been cocky, so sure she was going to get everything she wanted, and ironically that had been her downfall. Now she was more cautious, more willing to explore her faults and mistakes – if it meant her future plans would be successful, it was worth it.

This time Aria was heading exactly where Spencer had expected her to. When they stopped outside Hanna's house, Spencer felt a jolt of excitement. She watched Aria go inside, then she pulled out her phone and sent a message to the others.

**Showtime.**

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	5. DeAd silence

**SwanQueen4055 - thanks.  
Aerize - thank you! I'm surprised that even people who don't like the idea of Spencer being A have kept reading, but I'm glad they have.  
Runawaybaby555 - evil Spencer is such fun simply because she doesn't feel bad about all this... or does she?  
Forever Courage - this chapter explains Spencer's plan. What d'you think?  
ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - LOVE the name, by the way. My Sparia heart was breaking writing this, but I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. Thanks for the review.  
Sgdp1261 - thanks for the review, as always. Working out the A-Team's plans was one of the best parts of writing this, so I hope you guys like it. Oh, and I was meaning to reply to your last review to A is for Arlene - that note in your locker from -A sounds freaky as hell! Did you ever figure out who sent it?**

Anyway. Enjoy the chapter, everyone, and I'll see you all tomorrow.

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_"I did everything you asked me to."_

_Spencer sat down in the visitor's chair across from Mona. The other girl smiled, and Spencer felt a rush of respect for her. This plan had cost Mona a lot: her friends, her social standing, her perfect attendance record. But she was still pleased about it because she knew it was getting them closer to their goal. Talk about taking one for the team._

_"I know," Spencer said, returning the smile.. "And you'll be rewarded."_

_Mona looked at the nurse who was guarding the door, then leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Is everything -"_

_"It's going well," Spencer said, leaning forward as well. "I think you'll be out of here soon. But remember that there are some things you need to do while you're in here. How are they going?"_

_"I'm doing what I can," Mona replied. "I've got nothing but time on my hands, so I'm hoping to put it to good use."_

_Spencer leaned back again, satisfied. "Good. Have you said anything to anyone?"_

_Mona shook her head. "I'm still putting on a show for everyone. Catatonia doesn't suit me, but it's pretty fun to play."_

_They shared a laugh, and then Spencer remembered what she'd come here for. "The girls will probably want to see you," she said. "Hanna particularly. She hasn't said anything, but I know she'll come and visit you at some stage."_

_"How do you want me to handle it?" Mona asked._

_Spencer shrugged, spreading her arms wide. "However you think is best," she said. "Throw her a riddle or two. Babble on about nothing. Stare right through her and don't say a word. Whatever you want."_

_Mona clapped her hands together, looking like a delighted little child. "This is going to be fun."_

_Spencer stayed there for half an hour, just talking. They moved to lighter topics, like who was wearing what and who was cheating on whom, and it felt strangely similar to talking to her friends. Was she actually _friends_ with Mona? Finally visiting hours ended, and she got to her feet._

_"I'll leave the rest in your hands," she said._

_Mona responded with a grin and a mock salute. "Thanks, boss."_

_Spencer smiled as she left. That girl was really starting to grow on her. Maybe, even if she'd never really been friends with Hanna, Emily, or Aria, she could be friends with Mona. They understood each other, and they didn't shy away from the darkness they both had. And even if they were never friends, they were partners at least, team members, united in purpose and passion. They could be great._

_Scratch that, they _were_ going to be great. There was no way two such brilliant minds, so dedicated to a cause, could falter. They'd stick to the plan, they'd work together, and they'd take those girls down. They'd never know what hit them._

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"That wall had better be finished by the time I get back," Aria said sternly as she paused at the door. They'd been working on Hanna's room for almost an hour, during which time Aria had done three-quarters of one wall and Hanna had picked up a paintbrush all of about twice.

"Yes, _Mom_," Hanna said, rolling her eyes.

Aria stared pointedly at her until Hanna picked up a paintbrush and waved it idly around, splashing a bit of rose-pink paint on the wall.

"Look, I'm working."

This time it was Aria's turn to roll her eyes. She headed down the stairs, feeling considerably lighter than she had a couple hours ago. Although Hanna could be frustrating to deal with, she did love her, and since the gala they hadn't really spent much time doing things like this. It was nice to relax and not have to worry about everything for a while.

They'd asked Emily to come and help too, but nobody had heard from her since she'd stormed out of the classroom. Aria could understand where she was coming from, but she wished she'd just _talk_ to them. They'd proven time and again that keeping secrets and feelings to themselves wouldn't help in the long run; maybe if they were more honest with each other the A-Team wouldn't be able to manipulate them so easily.

Her step faltered as she reached the bottom of the stairs. There was a pile of broken glass, and she'd almost stepped on it. She maneuvered around it and went over to the cupboard to get a dustpan and broom to sweep it up, but on her way she noticed that a few other things seemed off: there was cutlery out on the bench, more scatterings of glass around the room, and one of the open windows was letting a swirl of leaves trail into the kitchen.

She frowned, going over to close the window, and wondered what had happened. Had Mrs Marin left in a hurry? That seemed unlikely, given the amount of mess there was. The kitchen had been spotless when Aria and Hanna had gone upstairs an hour ago, so what could possibly have happened between now and then to mess it up so much? With a mental shrug she set about cleaning up. The longer she took the more likely it was that Hanna would have actually done some work by the time she got back.

She swept up the glass and leaves and threw them in the trash, put the cutlery back in the right drawers, and even put the dishes in the dishwasher. When she was finished she turned to go back upstairs, but then she remembered why she'd come down here in the first place. She pulled a couple of bottles of orange juice out of the fridge and set them on the counter, then looked around for some snacks. It was the Marin household, which meant she was limited to the plainest of foods: carrot and celery sticks, unsalted crackers, fruit. She picked an apple out of the fruit bowl and went to take a bite (since she'd been doing all the work, she figured she'd earned a snack), but something stopped her.

Slowly she pulled her hand back, resting the apple in her palm, and stared at it. In the crisp red skin, someone had carved a single letter. **A**.

The apple fell from her hand as she bolted up the stairs. One of the A-Team had been in the house. They'd set the kitchen up like that because… why? Were they trying to distract her from something? She took the steps two at a time and reached Hanna's room in a matter of seconds.

"Hanna!" she called, trying to open the door. It was not only locked but jammed; when she tried to unlock it, the lock made a feeble sort of clinking noise but didn't move.

"Aria!" She sounded panicked and somehow faint, like she was far away.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked, still desperately trying to open the door. This had all been part of -A's plan, that much was certain, but what was their endgame here?

"No," Hanna shouted back. "The door's jammed and someone locked the window and I'm stuck in here and I – I can't breathe. Aria, I can't breathe."

Aria's heart was racing a mile a minute. She felt that horrible sensation of helplessness; she needed to help Hanna, but she couldn't even get to her. "It's going to be okay," she assured her, hoping she didn't sound as frantic as she felt. "I'm going to – Hanna, wait there for a minute."

Something had caught her eye down the hall, and she took off after it without a second thought. But by the time she reached the end of the hall the person had already vanished. All she'd been able to see was a black hoodie. That confirmed her suspicions, although they hadn't really needed confirmation; there was nobody else who would do this to them. She couldn't tell from her brief glimpse who was in the hoodie, although she supposed that didn't matter much. Spencer, Mona, and Toby were all the enemy.

She raced back to the bedroom and kept trying to open the door. "Sorry, I'm back. Are you still there?"

After a few seconds passed without a reply, Aria felt like she was standing in quicksand, and it was swallowing her whole. If she stood still any longer she wouldn't be able to breathe.

"Hanna, are you in there?" She knocked on the door, then leaned against it, listening closely for any kind of response. There was dead silence. "Hanna? Hanna!"

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The café was warm, cosy, and had the added bonus that all the other tables were full and within eyesight, so Spencer knew there was no way any of the girls could be here. Besides, two of them were otherwise occupied. She was sitting up the back of the café, furthest away from the window and the door. Mona was across from her, not even trying to disguise her satisfaction.

"The plan went off without a hitch," Mona said, stirring sugar into her tea and nibbling on a raisin cookie. She looked like a typical teen girl, and not many people would suspect that she had just locked someone in a room full of dangerous paint fumes. "How did you distract Aria?"

"I messed up the kitchen," Spencer replied, cutting her brownie into neat little squares. She put one daintily in her mouth, swallowed, then smiled. "And I left a message, of course."

"Well, it worked. She -"

At the moment the third member of the group arrived. He wasn't wearing his black hoodie, even though that was the favorite attire of all three; most of the time they didn't really need to wear their A-Team clothes, but made them feel united, more purposeful. Instead he was wearing ripped up jeans and loose-fitting shirt, the kind of clothes he used to wear before he met Spencer.

"Hi girls," he said, sitting down at their table and flagging down a harassed-looking waitress. After he'd ordered he turned back to them and asked, "Well?"

They exchanged a look, almost bursting with excitement.

"The plan was a success," Mona announced. "Spencer distracted Aria long enough for me to lock the window and the door. And you managed to keep Emily away?"

He nodded, but didn't elaborate. "Where are the girls now?"

"Aria finally managed to get into the room, and she drove Hanna to the hospital. They're still there." Spencer leaned back in her chair, looking at the other two. "Any word from our contact?"

"Negative," Mona said, pulling out her phone to check just in case. "But there's plenty of time."

"So there's not much to do now," Toby said. He looked almost disappointed; although he was searching for work in the area, Spencer knew that his real passion lay in his A-Team duties, and when he wasn't working on some kind of project he felt dissatisfied. She knew the feeling.

"There's always more to do." Spencer grinned, and he gave her a reciprocal smile. From her purse she withdrew a small notebook, which she flicked through until she came to the page she was looking for. She set the notebook on the table and the other two leaned forward to read it.

"I like it," Mona said appreciatively. She opened her mouth to say more, but at that point the door swung open and a gaggle of elementary school girls trailed in, all bright smiles and loud voices. "Shall we continue this elsewhere?"

Toby chucked a couple of bills on the table, and the group stood up and wended their way through the crowd. Once they were outside they all instinctively looked around, making sure no one was watching. Although Spencer wasn't expecting anyone to be there, she could never be too careful. It was Rosewood, after all; familiar faces were everywhere. But nobody gave them a second look, so they made their way over to Mona's car.

The drive to the lair was short and quiet. Toby kept skipping through radio stations, apparently unable to find one he could tolerate, and Spencer stared pensively out the window. It was good that she was back in action, but there was still so much she had to balance. She knew she'd have to go back to school soon or her parents would get suspicious, but she wasn't looking forward to it.

But parts of her missed it. The routine, the regularity. That warm feeling she got from being the first one to answer a question, or getting a test back and seeing that she'd gotten full marks. The intellectual challenge of school was stimulating, and when she combined that with all the quick thinking and forward planning she had to do in order to stay one step ahead of the girls, she knew her brain was getting a good workout.

The lair was quiet and cool. It's the kind of place that would be relaxing if it weren't so full of their A-Team equipment. Strangely, it was also starting to feel like home to Spencer. She'd settled back into her old room back at the Hastings house, but there she still felt detached, disconnected. She had to go through the motions of talking to her parents and her sister, of sitting down to family meals and acting like everything was normal. She'd been back less than a week and she was already sick of it.

Here, though, she felt at home. Her work with Mona and Toby made her feel switched on, connected, alive. She loved the feeling of it, even though she had the slightest twinge of guilt whenever she thought of her 'friends'. She mostly tried to ignore that.

"So for the grand finale," Toby said, taking something out of his bag, "I think I may have found a place."

With a flourish he spread the map across the table, pointing to a secluded cabin in the woods. On top of the map he placed a close-up view of the cabin: it was small but sophisticated, somehow both natural and cultured. It was the kind of place Spencer would like to go for a weekend with Toby, but she knew if he'd picked it out they'd be using it for a much less innocent purpose.

"That should do nicely," Mona said, reading the accompanying pamphlet. "Spencer, what do you think? It's your plan, after all."

Spencer pulled the map closer to her and looked at it. The place seemed to be just on the edge of the woods, about twenty miles out of town. It was exactly the kind of place they were looking for.

"I'd have to go and have a look for myself, but I don't see any problems with it," she replied.

"Excellent." Mona folded up the map and handed it back to Toby. Then she faced her two partners in crime with a wicked grin. "So that's phase one complete. Let's get started on the next one."

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	6. Their own fairytAle

**Hi everyone. Just a heads-up: there won't be an update on this story tomorrow. Instead I'm going to publish a Sparia one-shot I've been working on; something light and fluffy to make up for all the bad feelings in this one. Hope to see you there, and I'll be back to updating regularly the day after.  
SwanQueen4055 - thank you.  
insternameherex - you'll find out more about Spence's motivations. Maybe she's not the only one pulling the strings.  
Forever Courage - I LOVE the way you put the clues together and try to figure out what's going to happen. I really hope you like the finale, when we get that far. And thanks, as always, for the review.  
Runawaybaby555 - man, you're going to hate me during this story. There's some heart-stopping moments and a few cliffhangers. Apologies in advance. And I can't believe I didn't think of that. Maybe I should get you to proofread my work so you can offer awesome suggestions like that.  
xxil0vey0uxx - thank you!  
Sgdp1261 - you'll find out what happened to Hanna this chapter - maybe more than you were expecting. That locker thing still sounds scary. The closest thing I've had to that was when I walked into my friend's room and someone had drawn a letter 'A' in chalk on her closet, and I actually took a step back through the door before I reminded myself that it's just a show and no one's out to get me. XD  
Anyway. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

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_"Stupid gloves," Hanna muttered._

_"Why don't you take them off?" Aria asked._

_"Because they go with my scarf."_

_The conversation was brief, but it unsettled Spencer. She tucked her hand further into her pocket, hoping nobody would notice the cut that ran across her palm. She shouldn't be so careless, but she could be forgiven for being so excited – the plan had worked well. Sure, it hadn't made them back off, but that hadn't really been the point anyway. It would have been fine if it had caused them to take a step back, but instead it had made them step up, and that made it even more exciting._

_And this conversation was giving her more than amusement; the fact that the girls were talking so openly around her gave her confirmation that they still trusted her. It briefly occurred to her that maybe this was some kind of play, that they'd figured out her game and were now beating her at it, but the thought was so ridiculous she actually had to chew her lip to stop herself from laughing. There was no way they'd be that smart. They were good liars, and she respected that, but they were not geniuses._

_"Maybe –A doesn't want to kill us," Aria said. "Maybe they want to -"_

_"What, dance?" Spencer interjected, trying not to smirk as she thought about the upcoming gala._

_These girls weren't going to give up, which meant she had to work to stay ahead of them. It was a challenge, and she had no reservations in rising to it._

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This wasn't the first time Aria had paced nervously outside a hospital room, or even the first time she'd done it while waiting to hear news about Hanna. She kept checking her phone, but Emily hadn't replied to her messages. Hanna's mom was in New York overnight, but they'd called her and she was coming back early. Aria was the only person Hanna had right now, and she couldn't even do anything because the other girl hadn't woken up yet.

When she'd finally managed to get the door open, Hanna had been sprawled on the ground, looking deathly pale and hardly breathing. Aria had bundled her into her car and taken her straight to the hospital, and after they'd wheeled her off in a bed she hadn't heard any news. That had been almost an hour ago.

To give herself something to do she went and fetched herself a cup of coffee, but halfway back to the room she realized what a bad idea that would be. She was already hyped up and stressed out, and this was one of the few situations in which coffee wouldn't help. She dumped it in the trash on her way back, and when she reached the room she was surprised to see someone outside of it.

"Aria!" Wren said, walking over to her. He was dressed in scrubs and looked like he'd been here all night, but the smile he offered her seemed lively enough. She couldn't help but take a small step back as he approached; she'd only known him through Spencer, and all reminders of her were unpleasant.

"Hi Wren," she said, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was.

If he picked up on it, he didn't comment. "Hanna's awake now," he told her. "She's been asking for you."

The rush of relief that swept through her almost made her feel faint. If she'd still been holding the coffee she probably would have dropped it. "Thank god," she muttered. Then, to Wren, "Can I see her?"

"Of course," he replied, stepping aside and gesturing to the door. "Just don't be too long, okay? She's been through a lot and she needs to rest."

Aria nodded, offered him a smile in thanks, and made her way into the room. Hanna was propped up on her pillow, looking washed-out and tired but happy to see her.

"Hey," Aria greeted her softly, being careful to close the door before she walked over to her. She didn't want anyone overhearing what they were about to talk about. "How are you feeling?"

Hanna put a hand to her forehead, frowning. Then she sighed. "Fine, I guess. The doctors say there won't be any permanent damage, so that's something at least."

Aria perched on the end of her bed, wondering if she should have brought flowers or something like that. Maybe instead of pacing she should have gone to the gift shop. "Do you know what happened?"

"Do you want the medical explanation or a recount of events?"

"A recount will be fine."

"Good, because I don't remember the medical stuff," she said, laughing. Then she grew serious again. "After you went downstairs someone locked me in the room and closed the window. I guess the paint fumes kind of filled up the place and… yeah. Did you find me?"

"Yeah, I was the one who found you," Aria said. "But before I managed to get inside, I… I saw something."

Hanna sat up straighter. "What was it?"

"It was… someone in a black hoodie," Aria admitted. "Whoever locked you in the room, I guess."

"Wait, what?" Hanna's face went paler by at least three shades, so that it was now somewhat reminiscent of a ghost. "There was someone in my _house_?"

"Yeah. Whoever it was set up the kitchen to distract me. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I came across the message they left me."

"Which was?"

Aria gave a wry smile. "They'd carved an A into an apple."

"Our own fairy-tale," Hanna said with a grimace. "Did you see who it was?"

"No. They were gone before I could get a good look."

"Did it look like -"

Aria cut her off, knowing what she was about to say. "I didn't see, Han," she said gently. "I can't even guess who it was."

"Right." Hanna's gaze drifted away, taking in the room. She'd been in a few too many hospital rooms, and Aria knew that each time just reminded her that of the ever-present threat of the A-Team, who, it seemed, were now back in full force.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, during which Aria tried to think of something comforting to say. But nothing came to mind. They'd had a month of relative peace, and now they were thrown right back into the warzone without so much as a metaphorical bayonet between them.

Aria hated seeing Hanna like this. After Spencer she'd grown more protective of her friends, and to know that she could have stopped this, if she'd just stayed in the room… it was almost too much. And as she sat there she realized how frail Hanna was, how worn and tired she looked. And she saw something else, a smattering of scars on Hanna's wrist. Hanna saw her looking and glanced down, then quickly covered her wrist and tried to change the subject.

"So I was thinking, when -"

"Hanna," Aria interrupted.

Her friend barrelled on, trying to distract her. "When I get out of here, it would be cool if we could -"

"Hanna," Aria said more firmly.

"What?" Hanna snapped, more harshly than perhaps she'd intended.

Aria hesitated, not sure how to bring it up. She wanted to be gentle but unambiguous, and she didn't know how to balance the two. "Hanna, what happened?"

"I was cutting a carrot and the knife slipped," Hanna said.

Aria raised her eyebrow.

"It was a tricky carrot, okay?" Hanna folded her arms and looked away, but the silence stretched on. When she turned back to Aria there were tears in her eyes. "Please don't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone?" Aria echoed. "Why – Hanna, did you do that?"

She didn't say anything, but her silence was answer enough. Suddenly things seemed clearer. The way she'd been distant lately, always wearing gloves, not talking about her feelings. It was because she'd been trying to deal with things on her own.

"Hanna," Aria said, close to tears herself, "why would you -"

"I don't want to talk about it," Hanna interjected, her voice so hard that Aria had to stop herself from flinching. Hanna softened, but she was still guarded. "I'm sorry. I just… I didn't want you guys to worry."

"Of course we're going to worry about you, Han," she said, reaching for her hand. "We're your friends."

Hanna squeezed her hand in response, but stayed silent.

"I hate to ask this," Aria started, and Hanna's gaze snapped to hers, "but.. are you… have you been… I know you've had issues with food in the past, and it kind of looks like you haven't been eating lately…"

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" Hanna asked, pulling her hand away and using it to tug at the edge of her sheet.

The heavy silence that followed was broken by Aria's ringtone. She glanced at the caller ID, then turned to Hanna with an apologetic look. "It's Emily. I should -"

"It's fine," Hanna said without looking at her.

"I'll be right back," Aria assured her, rubbing her shoulder gently before exiting the room. Once she was in the hall she answered the phone, already anticipating some kind of trouble. "Hey Em, what's up?"

And then Emily said those four words that Aria did not want to hear.

"We need to talk."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

As soon as Spencer saw Aria come out of Hanna's room, she quickly turned around, pretending to be reading a poster about minimizing disease outbreaks. She half-expected an exclamation of surprise, a gasp of recognition as her former friend caught sight of her. But she just heard her softly answer the phone, then footsteps as she walked down the hall. Spencer let out a sigh of relief and turned back around. The road was clear.

She leaned against the wall, thinking. Part of her wanted to go in and talk to Hanna, but she knew that would serve no purpose. Hanna would probably just call the nurse or throw a pillow at her or something. Besides, she wasn't meant to be making contact yet. This job was strictly recon, and she didn't want to mess it up; she was still hating on herself after the incident at the gala, and even though Mona and Toby didn't _seem_ like they blamed her for it, she felt like she had to make it up to them.

She couldn't resist peering through the window. Hanna was lying in bed, staring gloomily at the floor. Spencer hadn't seen her from this close a distance in a long time, and to her surprise Hanna didn't look like her old glamorous self. She looked thinner, but not in a healthy way. Her hair was duller, and her eyes seemed duller too, like some of the light had faded from them. She wondered if that was her fault.

She turned away and pulled out her phone, walking briskly down the hall. As she did she dialled number one on her speed dial. Mona picked up after two rings.

"Everything going okay?" Mona asked.

"Yeah." Spencer glanced down the hall, making sure no one had noticed her, and then allowed herself to rest against the wall. "Emily hasn't shown up yet. Aria's still here, but she just went to take a phone call."

"Do you know who it was?"

"Uh, negative. But there's not exactly a long list of possibilities."

"True." Mona paused, and Spencer watched a very attractive male nurse wheeling an elderly patient down the hall. They'd just turned the corner when Mona spoke again. "Maybe you should go and see if you can find out who she's talking to."

"Roger that." Now it was Spencer's turn to pause. "Mona, is… is this really necessary?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean…" She chewed on her lip, then shook her head. "Never mind. I'll go find out who the phone call's from. I'll check in soon."

She hung up without giving Mona a chance to answer, and headed back to Hanna's room. There was no sign of Aria; she checked the nearest halls and even a couple of the supply closets, but she couldn't even hear her anymore. Not wanting to leave Hanna unsupervised for too long, she sat down on one of the plastic waiting chairs, kept her head down, and tried to be patient. She didn't have to wait long until the dark-haired girl came back, looking grim. Spencer waited outside while Aria talked to Hanna – she couldn't quite hear what they were saying – and watched as she came back out and headed for the exit. She counted to ten, then stood up and carefully followed her.

When they reached the parking lot Spencer stopped and sent a quick message to Mona, glancing up every few seconds to make sure she didn't lose sight of Aria. Mona replied quickly, releasing Spencer from her duties. Spencer stood on the hospital steps and watched Aria pull onto the main road, and a minute later another car followed. Mona would take over tailing detail now, leaving Spencer free to take care of more important things.

It only took a few minutes to reach her destination. She'd never been here before, but she had the address saved on her phone. It was a nice place, not too classy but much more upmarket than their lair. She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door of apartment 3A. She barely had time to register that the door was opening before someone had grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.

They didn't bother with greetings. Spencer felt the need to be with him, to be under him, to be one with him, and she knew he felt the same passion building inside him. Her fingers fumbled over the buttons on his shirt, her haste making her clumsy, but eventually she managed to pull the shirt off and toss it to the ground. He got hers off in two seconds flat, and they tumbled together onto the bed.

This was the one thing in her life she was sure about, the one thing she had never questioned. She and Toby were meant to be together, and they'd not only accepted that but embraced it. They'd been through more than the average couple, including having to pretend to break up several times, and that one time where he drugged her so she could maintain her cover, but that only served to strengthen their bond.

He was the one person she could completely rely on, and she had no idea he was going behind her back. If she'd just glanced sideways and caught sight of his phone, read the caller ID, known who he'd been talking to, she would have known the truth. But she was so busy revelling in her love for him that, for once, it didn't even occur to her to be suspicious.

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**All right, theory time. What do you guys think is going on? What does Emily need to talk to Aria about? What's Toby hiding from Spence? Does anyone have any guesses as to what Spencer gave Mona in chapter four? And what's the deal with Lucas? All thoughts/theories are welcome and encouraged.**


	7. Risk and reward

**Miss me? Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed 'Better than studying', I'm glad you liked it.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks. :)  
Forever Courage - I think most people are rooting for Spoby, even if it IS A-Team Spoby. You'll find out what's up with both Em and Toby this chapter. Wren's part will be clear a lot later on. Stay tuned. ;)  
Runawaybaby555 -Toby and Melissa. How hilarious. Maybe I'll write that into another fic. ;) Thanks for the review on this and my one-shot, and I'm sorry for making you wait!  
Sgdp1261 - that's exactly how I feel Spencer is at the moment; slight twinge of guilt, big desire to stick with the A-team. Good guesses. You might be right. A hint for what was in the box: it's not all that unexpected (definitely not on the scale of a mini guillotine), and it's something we've seen before. And don't worry about rambling, you know I love long reviews. :)  
insertnameherex - thanks for the review! It's totally fine. Just do it when you can. Bear in mind that sometimes the most out-there theories are the right ones, so feel free to throw them at me anyway. :p  
Now, here's the chapter. Enjoy, guys!**

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_By the time Spencer had been in charge of the A-Team for almost a year, with Toby and Mona as the full complement of team members, she was beginning to doubt her power. The other two listened to her, and they mostly obeyed without arguing, but she wasn't sure whether they were truly on her side. Mona's transformation, during the year following Alison's disappearance, had been impressive; Spencer hadn't been mistaken in seeing potential in Mona. But now that it had blossomed, she wondered if she should have gone with someone a little less like herself. She and Mona had been clashing lately – although they were similar, they often had different approaches, and she needed a way to ensure that she stayed in charge._

_It came to her one afternoon, and incidentally it was Mona who gave her the idea. The three of them were sitting in Mona's bedroom – they'd been looking for a better meeting place, but so far had been unsuccessful – and discussing their plans, as always. Aria had just returned from Iceland, and they'd just started sending messages to the girls. Spencer was more interested in the final outcome, but Mona and Toby were fascinated by the intricate details, planning out every move. She let them have free rein, although she had the final say._

_Today they were talking about which of the girls to target next. Mona was in favor of Hanna – she'd grown quite close to her, but that just made tormenting her all the more fun – whereas Toby wanted to go after Aria, because of some personal grudge he hadn't revealed to the rest of the team. Spencer didn't really mind who they went after, since it wouldn't affect the final plan, so she just leaned back and let them argue._

_Finally they decided on a target, and Toby started drafting up a plan. Spencer enjoyed watching them work; they bounced ideas off each other, building a snowball effect until it seemed like the plan took on a life of its own. The finished product was something akin to art: beautiful in its intricacy, perfect in its implementation._

_"I'll go see to this," Mona announced once the plan was finished. She paused at the door, glancing back at Spencer. "I mean, if that's okay with you?"_

_Spencer appreciated the fact that Mona was still asking for permission. Sometimes she would just march off and do things by herself; Spencer supposed she should admire her initiative, but most of the time she was just annoyed by it._

_"That's fine, Mona," Spencer said. "Just report back to me once you've finished."_

_"Sure thing, captain," she said with a wink._

_"Hey Mona," Toby said, making her pause again. He eyed her bright red hoodie, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be wearing your black hoodie for this?"_

_"Red is the new black," she said with a smile, disappearing into the night._

_Later that night Spencer slipped on a red coat she'd found in the back of her closet. It looked good on her, and it made her feel powerful. Red was a strong color. It was the color of passion, love, anger… blood. As she slid the coat off again she realized that this might be her way to make sure she stood out and stayed in control._

_That night was the beginning of Red Coat._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Woah, Emily, slow down." Aria pressed the phone closer to her ear as she closed the door behind her and started walking down the hall. "Say that again?"

"We need to talk," Emily repeated. "Spencer's not the only one who's back. Toby's in Rosewood too, and I think… he told me that Spencer's planning something big, something really dangerous, and he doesn't want to see us get hurt."

"Uh-huh," Aria said, turning the corner into a deserted hallway. She came to a stop outside the door to an empty room, running a hand through her hair as she tried to process this new piece of information. "And we started trusting Toby when, exactly?"

"I'm not saying I trust him entirely," Emily said. "I mean, I can't, not after what he's done. But he seems really scared. He thinks Spencer and Mona are planning something bad, and... well, that's something they'd do, right?"

"Right. And lying to us is something _Toby_ would do."

"I don't think Toby's lying," Emily protested. There was a clanging sound behind her, and then a soft whirring.

"Em, are you at work?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding distracted. "But I'm off in ten minutes. Can you come and meet me?"

Aria looked at the clock. Visiting hours ended in less than half an hour anyway. "Fine. I'll just go say goodbye to Hanna and -"

"Hanna!" Emily exclaimed. "God, I forgot to ask. Is she okay?"

"She's…" Aria searched for the right word. "Alive."

"What happened?"

Although the corridor was apparently deserted, Aria could never quite shake the feeling that someone was watching. Most of the time, someone probably was. She lowered her voice. "Em, let's talk about this later, okay?"

"Sure. I'll see you soon?"

Aria hung up and went back to Hanna, who seemed in an even worse mood than before.

"Fine, you two go off and play detective and I'll just stay here like an invalid," Hanna muttered once Aria told her where she was going.

"Han, I'm sorry -" Aria began.

Her friend cut across her. "It's okay. I'm useless anyway."

"Hanna -"

At the moment her cell went off. Strictly speaking she wasn't supposed to have it on her, but she hadn't wanted to part with it. She pulled it out from her pillow and read the message, making an apparent effort to keep her face devoid of all emotion.

"Who was that?" Aria asked.

"Oh, nobody," Hanna replied. "I mean, it was Caleb. He's out of town so he can't come and see me tomorrow. He was just apologizing for, like, the hundredth time."

The smile Hanna gave her was almost sincere. Aria didn't have time to press her for further information, but she made a note to bring it up later. She said her farewells, promising to be back tomorrow, and headed for the parking lot.

On her way over to the Brew, the coffeeshop where Emily worked, her neck kept prickling. She kept telling herself that she was being paranoid, which was understandable after everything she'd been through, but a couple of times in the rear-view mirror she thought she'd seen a black car tailing her. But whenever she turned around to look it was gone, so she'd force her eyes forward again and try to stop her hands from shaking.

Emily was just finishing up when she got there, and they went to their usual seats up the back after they'd bought their drinks. Aria had wisely chosen tea this time, but Emily had apparently bought black coffee; she downed it almost in one go, after which Aria was reasonably confident she could actually see her trembling.

"So you've talked to Toby," Aria said when it became clear Emily wasn't going to start the conversation.

She nodded. "I know I shouldn't have, but -"

"It's okay." Aria's new strategy for dealing with uncertainty was to be as open-minded and nonjudgmental as possible; that avoided any excess emotion, although sometimes it could be even more frustrating than jumping to conclusions. "Did… did he call you? Or did you call him?"

"He called me," Emily said, fiddling with her empty coffee cup. She seemed jittery, pouring sugar into the cup just to give her hands something to do. Finally she shoved it away and leaned forward. "I mean, at first he did. He called me just before Spencer came back. He said he needed to talk, but he couldn't do it then. I called him back later and we talked for a while. That's when he told me all that stuff about Spencer and Mona, about how they're…"

'Plotting against us' seemed too melodramatic, but there wasn't really another way to phrase it. Aria nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"I didn't believe him at first. But he sounded so convincing. I think… maybe he's on our side after all."

Aria weighed the evidence in her mind, and she knew Emily would disagree with the conclusion she came to. "Emily -"

"I know. I know I shouldn't trust him. I know about the things he's done to us, about the things they've all done to us, but I honestly think he wants to help."

"Okay." Aria could see that Emily was getting worked up, so she made sure to keep her voice low and gentle. "Em, I get what you're saying. And I'm not trying to tell you that Toby is the devil, or that he's the reason for everything that's gone wrong in our lives. But he's with Spencer. And they're working with Mona. I just think we should take everything he says with a grain of salt, that's all."

"I don't trust him completely," Emily admitted, "I just think we should listen to what he has to say."

Aria tilted her head. "You're not going to meet with him, are you? Because that -"

"No, I'm not going to meet with him. You'd have to be crazy to willingly meet with a member of the A-Team."

Aria bit her lip, remembering her trip to Spencer's house. In a way she was glad the other girl hadn't been there; now that the A-Team had gone after Hanna like that, her residual feelings towards Spencer were greatly diminished. She doubted there was any good in her former best friend, and she realized she should probably stop trying to look for it.

"But I'm going to talk to him again," Emily added. "There are some things I still need to tell him."

"Why are you so desperate to talk to him?" Aria asked, trying to phrase it carefully. She trusted Toby as far as she could throw him, and the thought of Emily seeking him out made her nervous. On the other hand, she had to give Emily the freedom to make her own decisions – and mistakes. "He may not even listen to what you have to say."

"I know." Emily stood up, dusting off her jeans, and said, "But if you have something to say to someone, you should say it while you're both still alive."

With that cryptic and bewildering comment she left, and Aria stayed where she was until she remembered she was meant to be meeting Ezra. She was just standing up to leave when her cell went off.

**I see you've learned your lesson about trust, Aria. It's better to be alone than to put your trust in the wrong person. Remember what happened last time? -A**

She shoved her cell back in her bag and marched out of the coffeeshop. –A was not going to ruin today. She could worry about Emily and Hanna and what the A-Team was doing tomorrow. For tonight, she was just going to let herself be a normal teenage girl spending a normal night with her boyfriend.

When she got to his apartment Ezra seemed distracted, but he welcomed her warmly enough. She curled up in his arms as they settled down to watch a movie, and she felt herself relaxing with every second that slipped by. This was one thing –A could never take away from her: these precious moments with the man she loved, feeling his heartbeat as she lay on his chest, watching his hand curl around hers just to remind her that he was here, and he was hers.

This was the one part of her life she would not let –A mess with.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Spencer let out a groan as she re-read the message.

"What is it?" Toby asked, stroking her hair.

She sat up, pulling the sheets closer around her, and said, "Mona wants me to go do some surveillance work."

He sat up too, watching as she got out of bed and started putting her clothes back on. "You don't have to do everything she says, you know."

She paused, partway through tying her shoes, and looked up at him. "I know. But it's all part of the plan, so it's worth it, right?"

"If it means you having to leave me, I'm not so sure it is," he grumbled.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, and then she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back soon," she promised.

"You'd better be," he said, flopping back down on the bed as she left the room.

The second Spencer's feet hit the ground outside, she was all business. She'd become good at detaching herself from her emotions. As much as she loved Toby, she knew that she couldn't let her feelings for him get in the way of her work. When she was with him, she was unreserved, wholly his, completely in the moment. But when the moment ended and she was called back into the game, she would separate herself from her feelings for him and focus on the task at hand. It was a trait that made her not only a successful student, but also an almost-successful evil genius.

Her destination was a little bar off the beaten track, and her target, unusually, was not one of the girls. She pulled up outside the bar – she was early, as always; in the Hastings family tardiness was practically punishable by death – and settled down to wait.

She was used to these kinds of missions, which involved a lot of monotony and mind-numbing boredom, but it always made her uncomfortable to be spying on anyone besides the three girls. It wasn't so much that she was morally opposed to the idea; it was that the more people they involved, the more potential things had to become complicated. If they kept it simple, just targeting Aria, Emily, and Hanna, then they could usually inflict maximum damage with minimal casualties.

But sometimes that wasn't enough. In this situation they had to go outside their little circle to dig up some dirt on those close to the girls. It was part of a carefully crafted plan, and she knew Mona and Toby were doing their parts, but that hardly made the wait any less dull. After five minutes she started tapping a staccato rhythm on her steering wheel; after ten minutes she was singing along with it.

Her singing stopped abruptly as she caught sight of her first target across the parking lot. She sank lower in her seat, pulling out her phone. The first figure was met by a second, and they both paused a few feet away from each other, surveying the surrounding area like they were worried they were being watched. Spencer slid right down, ducking beneath the steering wheel, and counted to five before coming back up.

To her dismay when she came back up her targets were nowhere in sight. She waited half a minute – the most she could afford, given how brief the meeting was probably going to be – and then got out of the car. She was wearing her black hoodie, like she always did when she was on assignment, which made it easy to sneak after them. She crept around the bar, quickly looking inside to make sure her targets weren't there (which she was reasonably certain they wouldn't be; it wasn't their style), and went around the back.

Her targets, much like herself, were used to hiding. They were huddled by the back door, and Spencer would have passed right by them if she hadn't been so keenly searching for them. She took a quick step back and considered her plan of attack. Every second she spent on planning at this stage was a second wasted, so she made her decision quickly. It wasn't the best hiding place, but a nearby dumpster provided the only cover in sight. She pressed herself against the wall, praying that her targets stayed fixated on each other, and then dashed across to the dumpster.

She dived behind it and crouched down, her breathing fast and shallow. There was no shout of discovery, no sudden flash of light. No sign she'd been spotted. She peered around the dumpster; her targets were deep in conversation. With an internal sigh of relief she took out her phone and started recording them.

"You know what this means," the man said, waving an envelope in front of him.

The woman reached for the envelope, obviously flustered, but he yanked it out of her way.

"Where did you get this?" the woman demanded.

He tucked the envelope into his jacket and smirked. "An anonymous source."

Spencer suppressed a snort. Of course it was an anonymous source; Mona had dropped it off at the police station, signing the envelope only with an _A_.

She kept filming until the meeting ended (the woman stormed off and the man stayed behind for a moment to silently gloat to himself), waited a couple minutes to be sure, then headed back to her car. She opened the door and was about to get in when she was hit by a sudden strike of rebelliousness. Mona could wait.

She slammed the door closed, tucked her phone into her pocket, and walked over to the bar. She'd completed her assignment. She deserved a little reward.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Okay, please don't hate me, but there won't be an update tomorrow. Instead I'm going to publish a chapter of Iridescence, my Spoby AU story. BUT, then I'll be back to my regular update schedule, I promise!**


	8. Green walls and red coats

**Hey everyone. Sorry about the delays; from here we should be back to a relatively uninterrupted update schedule.  
SwanQueen4055 - thank you!  
Runawaybaby555 - thanks for the review, as usual. A-Team Spoby is a little more wild and passionate than regular Spoby, I'll admit. ;) And you're right to be suspicious about that paragraph with Ezra - he and Spencer will have a scene together soon, and you'll find out what's going on then.  
insertnameherex - Toby could be lying. It is Rosewood, after all. Nobody tells the whole truth. This is set roughly during season 3. A is for Arlene followed the storyline up until episode 2 and then went off on its own track. So this is kind of an alternate season 3. Garrett is therefore still alive. Hope that clears that up for you. :) And thank you for the review! Don't worry about rambling or seeming creepy (I swear, you don't). I love long reviews.  
Forever Courage - Wilden is still alive. He may or may not have appeared in this story. As for Spencer's two targets, they are both people we know.  
Sgdp1261 - you're probably right to not trust Toby... and while you're at it, don't trust anyone else either. ;) There are still some people on the girls' side, so don't worry - not EVERYBODY wants them dead.  
sydneytravis4 - hi there! Thank you for the review. I'm glad you like my writing, and I hope you enjoy this new story of mine. And true, it's Rosewood, so it pays to be suspicious of everyone... even yourself. Or not. It's up to you. :p  
Now. Onto the chapter. Enjoy!**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

_"What are you guys doing here?" Spencer did her best to keep the irritation out of her voice; arousing suspicions this early on in the game was not a smart move. She glanced from Aria to Emily and back again._

_"Just talking," Aria replied, and although Spencer was distracted she noticed the way that Aria hesitated. Maybe she wasn't the only one not telling the truth. "What about you?"_

_Spencer had forgotten that the other girls knew about this place. It used to be one of their favorite hangouts, but they hadn't been here in months. Cursing herself for her poor planning, she replied cautiously, "I, um, I'm here with Toby, actually."_

_Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might actually have a heart attack. She clenched her hand under the table, trying to keep her cool. As long as she didn't blow her cover, she was fine. As long as the girls didn't know why she was really here, there was nothing to worry about._

_"Oh," Aria said._

_Emily mumbled something about leaving her to it, and then they departed. She waited until they were out of sight and earshot, and then let out a sigh. Those girls were always getting in the way. She was meant to meet Toby here, that much was true, but it wasn't to have a romantic meal together. It was so they could discuss their plans – plans which, if all went well, would get her off the hook for killing Alison and give her some room to breathe. This A-Team stuff was thrilling, sure, but it was also tiring._

_She pulled out her cell and punched in his number, her hands shaking with residual nerves from this unexpected meeting. They'd almost ruined everything. If they'd caught her and Toby talking about anything important…_

_"Hello?" he answered._

_She took a deep breath, digging her nails into the table. "We may have a problem."_

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

When Hanna was released from the hospital on Sunday the girls went to their favorite ice cream parlor to celebrate. Hanna's mom had been reluctant to let her leave the house, worried she would overexert herself, but she'd eventually argued her way into being allowed out. They started to settle into their usual seats, but suddenly Hanna stood up and without a word walked over to another booth. Aria and Emily followed, understanding what she was trying to do. They needed to make their own patterns, change their habits, and attempt to break free from the past.

They deliberately sat at a booth that was only just big enough for the three of them. There was no empty chair, no obvious gap in the circle. Still, there were reminders of their former friend, but they tried their best to ignore them.

"So have you seen Caleb yet?" Emily asked, swirling a spoon through her caramel sundae.

Hanna looked up from her milkshake and shook her head. "He's still out of town, but he'll be back tonight. He's coming over to my house for dinner."

"Your mom didn't want you out too long, huh?" Aria asked, scooping a spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream into her mouth and forcing herself not to let out a moan at how good it was. They hadn't been here since before the gala, and she'd forgotten how good their ice cream was. She wished everything was that easy to forget.

"No." Hanna rolled her eyes. "She's paranoid that I'm going to, like, pass out or something. Like it was just random the first time."

Aria swallowed her mouthful and opened her mouth to ask Hanna how she was really doing, if she'd been skipping meals again. But Hanna, sensing where the conversation was going, met Aria's eyes, dug her spoon into her bowl of peanut butter crunch ice cream, and took a huge bite. Then she smirked, knowing that would be enough to stop Aria from mentioning it. Hanna's issues with food were something all of the girls were aware of, but none of them really talked about. It was mostly better that way, but it didn't stop Aria from worrying about her friend.

"So how's Paige?" Hanna asked Emily in a very deliberate change of topic. Aria let it slide; after all Hanna had been through, she deserved a little space.

"She's good," Emily replied, her eyes lighting up a little bit at the very mention of her girlfriend. "There's some kind of field hockey training camp going on this weekend, which she's really excited about. She wants to get back into the sport, maybe even use it to get a scholarship next year."

"That's great, Em," Aria said. But the change of topic hadn't been as smooth as she'd thought. Spencer had played field hockey, and she'd been relying on that as a backup if she didn't get the academic scholarship she wanted.

Emily bit her lip. "Isn't anyone going to mention her?"

"Who, Paige?" Hanna asked, genuinely confused. "I just did."

"No," Aria said quietly. She looked down at her food, which looked less appealing, and at her hands, which had started to tremble. She clasped them in her lap, hating how just the thought of her name made her feel weak. "Spencer."

"Oh." Hanna paused, spoon halfway to her mouth, and scowled. "Her."

"It's just -" Emily glanced at Aria, who nodded at her to continue. "Whoever locked you in that room snuck into your house. We all know she's capable of that. And she's capable of…"

"What, trying to kill me?" Hanna said brashly. "Yeah. I know. And she's tried to kill Aria too. You're the only one she hasn't gone after. I guess you're her favorite, Em."

Before Emily had time to answer her phone went off. While she read the message Aria let her eyes drift around the room. The wallpaper was mint green, decorated with flecks of confetti that she assumed were meant to represent sprinkles. She used to come here as a kid, until one day she'd tried to test out her theory that the confetti was edible; her parents had been so embarrassed that they'd taken her straight home, washed all the glitter off her face (although it took a week to get all of it out of her clothes), and never brought her back. There was a steady hum of conversation, pierced by the occasional happy shrieking of a kid on a sugar high. This was Rosewood at its finest, their town as it was meant to be; these people had no idea about the darkness lurking beneath.

"What's wrong, Em?" Hanna asked.

Aria turned around and saw that Emily was frowning. She quickly covered it up with a smile, but it was far from convincing.

"Who was the message from?" Aria leaned sideways to try to get a look at her phone (they'd long ago stopped bothering with common courtesy and privacy when it came to their phones), but Emily locked the screen and slid the phone into her pocket.

"Come on, Em, talk to us," Hanna urged. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Emily kept hesitating, but Aria rested her hand on her friend's shoulder and said quietly, "Please?"

After a few more moments Emily reluctantly withdrew her cell and set it on the table. Aria and Hana leaned over and read the message.

**You're not my favorite, Em, but you were Ali's. Wonder why she never told you. –A**

Aria frowned, looking up at Emily. "What does this mean? What didn't she tell you?"

Their supposedly light-hearted get-together had taken an upsetting but almost expected turn. It seemed like they couldn't do anything these days without A interfering, like the team legitimately had nothing better to do than ruin their day. Emily fiddled with a napkin, eventually tearing it into shreds and watching them drift to the table.

Finally she reached into her bag and produced a piece of paper. She put this on the table too, averting her eyes and biting her lip. The paper was pink and smelled faintly of flowers; it was crinkled along the edges and fold-lines, like someone had been carrying it around for a long time. Aria picked it up and inched closer to Hanna so they could both read it.

The writing was familiar, and almost enough to make Aria throw the paper away and pretend she'd never seen it. But she needed to read it, so she clenched her fist under the table and forced herself to scan the contents.

_Hey Em,_

_You know that Paris trip I was talking about? I wasn't kidding. You, me, sweet Paris. Endless summer days and more croissants than we can eat. We can drink hot chocolate and wear berets and go to all the museums so we can make-believe we're sophisticated. Maybe I'll take you up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Maybe when we reach the top the wind will blow our hair back and the view will take our breath away._

_And maybe while we're there, I'll kiss you – for real this time._

_Always yours,_

_Ali._

She re-read the note twice, and then handed it back to Emily, who tucked it back into her bag without looking at them. Aria tried to process the contents of the letter. She and the other girls knew that Emily had had feelings for Ali, but they'd all thought they were unrequited. Did this mean… had Ali _loved_ Emily?

"Where did you get this?" Hanna asked, her expression making it clear that she was as shocked as Aria.

"Maya's family sent me a box of her things," Emily explained quietly, seeming suddenly vulnerable at having shared such an intimate secret. "Letters and some knick-knacks, mostly. But a couple of Ali's things had gotten mixed up in it. Including…"

She gestured to her bag, and the others nodded.

"How long have you had it?" Aria inquired.

"A couple months," Emily admitted. "I just… I wasn't sure how to deal with it. And A's been taunting me about it."

So that explained some of Emily's strange behavior lately. The messages she'd been getting had been from A, and she hadn't been ready to share it with the girls yet. Once Aria would have felt insecure, wondering why Emily hadn't confided in them before, but now she understood. She knew what it was like to have secrets you didn't want to keep, but that you weren't quite ready to let go of yet.

She also knew what it was like to have secrets you knew you were never going to spill.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The night at the bar had been more wild than Spencer had anticipated. She couldn't remember all of it, but from the flashes she got she felt like she'd had a lot of fun. She'd had to ask Toby to pick her up because she was too drunk to drive, and although he'd given her a couple of disapproving looks on the drive home he hadn't said anything.

He'd driven her back to her house and helped her into bed; she would have preferred to stay at their lair, but she couldn't risk sneaking out too often. Her parents would notice, and she wouldn't be able to come up with a believable excuse. Before all of this stuff with the A-Team she would have just said that she was staying at one of the girls' houses, but now she couldn't rely on them to corroborate her story on the off-chance her parents decided to check. She didn't blame them; she wouldn't cover for them either.

Now it was Sunday night, and she was curled up on the couch with Toby. Mona was sitting at the desk, typing furiously at her computer. She turned around after a few minutes, letting out a dramatic sign.

"Everything okay, boss?" Toby asked, smirking. He and Mona had a strange relationship, built mostly on sarcasm and half-sincere insults.

"Yes," she said curtly. She turned around a typed a few more sentences, then shut the laptop and came over to where the others were sitting. She perched on the edge of the couch. "Good job at the ice cream parlor, by the way, Toby."

He shrugged. "It was easy enough. It's a shame Emily finally told them about Ali having feelings for her, though. That was fun to tease her about."

"True," Mona said with a grin so wide the moonlight streaming through the window made her teeth glisten. "But it doesn't really matter. We have other things we can work with. Which reminds me, Spencer, did you get the video I asked for?"

"Oh, yeah." Mona hadn't been around for the past couple of days, so Spencer hadn't yet had a chance to give her the video she took outside the bar. She retrieved her phone from the kitchen and handed it over to Mona, who watched the video with an appreciative smile.

"This is great," she said, opening up her laptop again and downloading the footage from the phone. When she was finished she tossed the cell back to Spencer, who caught it one-handed

"Do you think you're going to use it soon?" Toby asked, draping an arm around Spencer's shoulders.

"I was thinking tomorrow," Mona replied, and Spencer felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of putting the next part of the plan into action. "You all know your roles, yes?"

Although she may have been imagining it, Spencer thought she detected a hint of condescension in her voice. She bristled at it, but made sure to keep her voice even as she said, "I know what I'm doing, yes."

"Good." She handed them each a slip of paper, with a brief mission statement and reminder of their roles. "Your orders -"

Spencer felt a spark of irritation. "I can follow instructions," she said, taking the piece of paper and scanning it, "but I do not take orders."

"I'm sure you don't," Mona said without missing a beat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spencer asked, shrugging Toby's arm off her so she could lean forward and meet Mona's eyes.

Mona was the most volatile member of the group. She could be on fire one minute, brimming with righteous indignation and unresolved anger, and the next second she could be completely disconnected, unemotional and unconcerned. It was one of the things that made her so brilliant; her ability to switch between these roles made her not only valuable but dangerous. But lately Spencer couldn't help wondering whether Mona had full control over these mood swings.

Instead of answering the question, Mona pulled out her cell. "I think it's time to get things rolling. Who wants to do it?"

The sudden shift in her manner made Spencer uneasy. She glanced at the red coat hanging up behind Mona's head; she'd given it to her the day they'd come back to Rosewood for good, figuring it was best to let her take the lead for a while. "You should do it. You're in charge, after all," Spencer said quietly, not wanting to risk angering her.

It wasn't that Spencer was suddenly at the bottom of the ladder. She liked to think that they were all relatively even in terms of the pecking order, but whoever wore that red coat was indisputably in charge. After the gala she hadn't felt confident enough to keep leading the team, but that didn't mean she was just going to lay down and let Mona do whatever she wanted.

"Perfect." Mona smiled and started typing out the message, reading it aloud as she did so. This was more to keep them in the loop than to ask for feedback; she sent it off without asking for their input.

Spencer thought the message was a little harsh, but then she remembered all of the things she'd said and done, and realized she had no right to think such things. Sometimes it was difficult being so blunt, so tormenting, but she recognized that this was mostly because she had spent years trying to live up to her parents' expectations and trying to get along with her friends.

It had taken a lot of effort to curb her natural impulses; she had always been strong, but it hadn't been until she'd met Ali that she'd finally slipped into her natural coldness, and it wasn't until after she killed her that she finally let herself acknowledge that she wasn't quite as cold as she'd thought. She wasn't removed, distant, objective; she actually enjoyed being in control, even if it meant doing some questionable – and sometimes illegal – things. It wasn't just the control she liked; it was the power. It was the sneaking around and keeping secrets. It was everything. It was incredibly unhealthy, and she knew this. And, truth be told, she also loved it.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**So Ali loved Em and Mona's Red Coat now. What did you guys think of the chapter? Any theories? See you next chapter!**


	9. A bold move

**Emote Control - cool penname, by the way, and thanks for the review. I'm glad you're liking the story and I hope to see you in future chapters. :)  
Runawaybaby555 - interesting theory about Ezra. We'll see if you're right. And I love that you would think of a quote like that. This chapter delves into the A-Team dynamic a bit more, and I hope you like it.  
Forever Courage - well that would be a fun plot twist. I mean, if the Queen of Hearts can be a guy, why can't Red Coat? ;) Hope you had fun at basketball, and feel free to share any theories with me, whether they're in reviews or by PM or anything.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks. :)  
sydneytravis4 - as you'll see in this chapter, Spencer didn't exactly back down - and maybe she's not too happy with Mona in charge. You'll find out who Spencer's targets were soon, in about two or three chapters I think. Melissa is a possibility... keep the theories coming (both you and everyone else).  
insertnameherex - you are correct, that scene was from A is for Arlene, when Spencer said she was meeting Toby, which she was, but the girls caught her out on the lie when they saw him buying the guillotine (of course they didn't know that's what he was doing), and she later said she was meeting A... which, technically, she was. I'm loving your enthusiasm! I've never really done much with the Emily/Ali pairing but I think it has potential. But it seemed to fit here.  
Sgdp1261 - no, running would definitely be wise. XD Toby should probably be careful. Spencer and Mona have very volatile personalities and if they clash too much it could be... well, disastrous is the word that comes to mind. And I want a red trench coat for that reason too! I actually have a black hoodie and I always feel sorta powerful when I wear it. ;)  
Okay. Enjoy the chapter, and (not that you guys would, you're great) don't forget to review.**

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_To say Spencer was humiliated was an understatement. The gala had been a disaster, and although she was trying to keep a brave face in front of Mona and Toby, she knew they understood just how frustrated she was. If the plan hadn't gone wrong, she would be free. Aria would have been arrested for Ali's murder, and she would be hanging out with Emily and Hanna. Instead she was languishing in the cheapest hotel they could find, waiting for Mona to get back with the groceries. This was not the way she'd imagined things._

_Toby was asleep, again, and she was bored. She wasn't ready to start planning her comeback yet – she needed time to marvel in the glory of her spectacular failure – but there wasn't much else to do here. She found herself wandering over to the closet. They'd brought very few personal belongings with them, so the closet was mostly full of black hoodies. The red coat stood out among them like a splash of blood._

_She withdrew it and put it on, admiring herself in the cracked mirror in the corner of the room. She liked the way the coat made her feel: powerful, in control. Feared. Admired. She usually stuck to wearing her black hoodie like the others in the team, so when she put this on they knew she meant business. It was symbolic rather than practical. When she was wearing the red coat she made it clear that she was in charge, and nobody questioned her._

_But suddenly, it didn't feel right to wear it. She'd led the team into a disaster, and she didn't feel confident taking charge at the moment. She still wanted to go after the girls, of course – by no means was she finished with _them_ – but she didn't want to be the one calling the shots. But who did she trust to take over?_

_"Can I get a little help here?" Mona called._

_Spencer shoved the coat back in the closet and went out to help Mona with the groceries._

_"What the hell have you got in here?" Spencer asked as she took two of the bags that were weighing the smaller girl down. "Because you didn't need to go and buy bricks, we have a ton of them out the back -"_

_"Ha ha," Mona said dryly, putting her bag down on the table. She pulled out a pile of notebooks. "_This_ is what I bought."_

_Spencer glanced at the two bags she'd carried, which seemed to be the same thing. "Why do we need so many of them?"_

_"Because," Mona announced gleefully, "I think it's time we started planning our glorious comeback. Don't you, Spencer?"_

_Spencer thought of the red coat, and suddenly she knew who really deserved to wear it._

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Dealing with the A-Team had made Aria slightly paranoid. Before all of this had started she was a free spirit, unconcerned and content to go with the flow. But these days she was more wary, more on edge, so when someone grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards an empty classroom on Monday morning, her first reaction was to scream. Thankfully before she did she had the good sense to whirl around and see who had grabbed her, and she relaxed at once, her fear giving way to irritation.

"Gees, Han," she said, following her to the room and then pulling her arm away, rubbing it slightly where Hanna had gripped it with surprising force. "What's -"

"Shut up and wait here," Hanna said, uncharacteristically blunt. She glanced down the hall and then ducked outside, coming back a moment later dragging a confused-looking Emily behind her.

"Hanna, I'm supposed to be meeting Paige before school," Emily complained as the blonde-haired girl closed and locked the door behind them.

"Believe me, it can wait." Hanna turned back to them, folding her arms and leaning against the door. A few beats of silence passed.

Aria shot a look at Emily, then looked back at Hanna. "So, did you bring us here just to stare creepily at us?"

"No," Hanna said, giving her one of those 'duh' looks. But she didn't seem eager to elaborate. Her reluctance made Aria nervous; what could be so important that it couldn't wait, but so bad that she didn't want to tell them? "Before I tell you this, you guys have to promise not to freak out."

"We promise," Aria said quickly, and Emily nodded.

Hanna still seemed unsure, but at last she revealed her news. "Spencer's back."

"Back?" Aria felt her heart skip a beat. "What do you mean, back?"

"Like back at school?" Emily asked.

"No, back on the block," Hanna retorted. "Yes, back at school."

Aria's mind started swirling with the implications of this. If Spencer was back at school it meant she was here for good. Was she just going to pretend that nothing had happened between them? Would they have to see her every day and not be able to tell anyone what she'd done? Would they have to pretend to be _friends_?

"Oh god." Emily sank down onto one of the desks, looking faint. "She's back."

Aria sat down beside her, equally shocked. It hadn't occurred to her that Spencer would dare show her face in school again. After the gala she'd taken off, and Aria had just assumed that her contingency plan wouldn't involve coming back to school. This meant she was either arrogant, brave, or stupid, and Aria bet it was a mix of all three.

"What do we do about it?" Aria asked.

Hanna shrugged. "I'm just going to ignore it and hope it goes away."

Aria's head snapped up to look at her. That was something Ali had once said about Mona. It didn't feel right saying it about this particular problem, about _Spencer_, but she knew it was true. They couldn't risk a confrontation, especially when they didn't know the whereabouts of Mona and Toby or even the extent of the influence of the A-Team. So Spencer probably had every right to be arrogant. She knew they couldn't touch her without risking everything.

Although Aria had all morning to prepare herself for it, she still wasn't ready when she came across Spencer. It was just after lunch, and Emily had gone off to meet Paige. Aria and Hanna were walking down the hall, talking about their hot new History sub, but their chatter cut off immediately as they saw a familiar figure standing up ahead.

Spencer saw them at the same time as they saw her. All of them stopped moving at once, their eyes meeting tentatively. Aria held Spencer's gaze, hoping to see some sign of her old friend, some of that familiar spark, but she saw nothing. Spencer didn't even look cold, exactly; she looked blank. She stood there without saying a word, although they were within speaking distance. Then she started moving, and for one horrible moment Aria thought she was going to come over to them. But instead she just closed her locker, spun on her heel, and strode away.

Aria let out the breath she'd been holding, and she felt Hanna relax beside her. They waited a few more seconds, just in case, and then cautiously made their way over to their lockers. Seeing Spencer here seemed almost surreal. It didn't feel right that after all that had happened Spencer could just waltz back in here and pick up where she left off. And nobody else knew what she'd done, so nobody treated her differently. Aria wondered if she would act different now, or if she'd pretend she was the same Spencer Hastings she always was.

Thankfully Aria didn't have any classes with her that day, so that brief glimpse of her in the hall was all she had to deal with at the moment. But Spencer had been in the same Chem class as Hanna, so when the group met up at Emily's after school she had a lot to say on the matter, most of which was so unpleasant that Caleb eventually kissed her just to shut her up.

Paige looked from Hanna to Emily in confusion. "Where's all this animosity towards Spencer coming from?" she asked.

Aria watched the scene unfold before her in slow motion, but her reflexes were slow too. Before she could say anything, Hanna pulled away from Caleb and said to Paige, "After what she did to us, can you blame me?"

"What -?" Paige turned to Emily, frowning. "What did she do to you?"

Emily shot Hanna a glare, and the blonde ducked her head apologetically. But the damage was done; once Paige got hold of an idea, she wouldn't let it go. Paige kept looking at Emily, who glanced at the other girls, conflicted. Aria weighed the pros and cons in her head; Paige knew about A anyway, and it was probably safer if she knew who exactly was behind the whole thing – unless of course she decided to go after them. But Emily was good at reigning Paige in, so Aria made an executive decision.

"I think you should tell her, Em," she said quietly.

Emily bit her lip, but it was plain that she'd already made her decision. "We need to talk," she said to Paige, taking her gently by the hand.

Aria watched as Emily led Paige out of the room, closing the door behind them. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Caleb asked, "How do you think she's going to take it?"

"She'll be okay," Aria said. Her respect for Paige, which had initially been lower than zero after she tried to drown Emily, had been steadily rising ever since. Now she was beginning to realize why Paige was so guarded: it was what made her strong, what kept her from falling apart. She'd handle this news like she handled everything; quietly, independently, and with every concern for how it would affect Emily. "Besides -"

She broke off as she turned back to Caleb and Hanna and saw that they were making out, apparently oblivious or indifferent to her presence. She rolled her eyes, but they didn't see because they were so caught up in each other.

"I think I'm going to take off," she said, suddenly feeling the need to be anywhere but here. She needed to get out and clear her head.

Hanna and Caleb mumbled goodbyes, but didn't look up as she left the room. She said a quick farewell to Emily and Paige on the way, and they paused their heated discussion to mutter a 'See you later' and a 'Bye, Aria'. Once she hit the ground outside she sped up, not sure where she was going but knowing she needed to get away. She kept walking until her legs started aching and her lungs started burning.

Spencer was back at school. Did that mean the entire A-Team was back? Toby probably was, since he was in touch with Emily. But where was Mona? Was she still out of town, laying low? Or was she just keeping her presence masked, hiding out and watching them?

Aria's thoughts ran in dizzying circles, and the more she tried to sort them out the more tangled they became. Finally she sank down onto a park bench and rested her head in her hands. For a moment she considered calling Ezra – just the thought of his soothing voice calmed her a little – but she felt like she needed to be alone for a while. She watched the world go by around her; little kids chasing leaves, couples strolling hand-in-hand, harried-looking parents buying last-minute groceries. She felt like the world was swallowing her up, like she wasn't really a part of it but it was consuming her anyway.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed the rustle of leaves behind her, but a low whisper caught her attention. She spun around and saw two black-clad figures in the trees behind her. They were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't notice her, but she could hear snippets of what they were saying.

"…doubting my loyalty?"

"No, I'm not…"

A few beats of silence, or inaudible conversation, followed. Aria wasn't sure if this was worse than the words they were saying.

"It's okay, I have a plan…"

There was another rustle as one of the people moved, and she caught a glimpse of their face. She'd recognized the voices anyway, but this gave her irrefutable proof that she'd just overheard part of a conversation between two members of the A-Team.

"Spencer -"

"Mona, don't. I'll handle it."

Aria's heart lurched as she realized the two of them were moving her way. They still hadn't noticed her, but they would in about five seconds. She shot from her seat and sprinted off, and she didn't look back until she'd run for three blocks. Then she finally allowed herself to slow down and then lean against a wall, trying to catch her breath.

Mona was back. So was Spencer. That meant the entire A-Team was probably in Rosewood again, and that could definitely mean nothing good.

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Spencer leaned against the tree, her eyes flickering to her watch impatiently. Mona was supposed to be here five minutes ago; she was the one who'd arranged this meeting, and she wasn't even here. She considered leaving, but she knew if she wasn't here when Mona arrived she'd probably regret it. Mona had a way of making life acutely unpleasant if she was displeased, which she frequently was.

Another five minutes passed before Mona showed up, and even then she didn't apologize or offer any explanations.

"Thanks for meeting me, Spencer," she said, flipping her hood up and giving Spencer a measured, almost suspicious, look.

Resisting the urge to point out that she didn't really have a choice – she could hardly refuse to meet someone who now outranked her – Spencer said, "Of course. What did you want to talk about?"

"There's no need to be snippy with me," she said calmly.

"I'm not -" Spencer bit back a burst of anger, took a deep breath, and said, "Sorry. Go on."

"Right." Mona looked around, doing a full 360 degree scan of the area. It wasn't exactly a stylish meeting place, and it didn't even seem very secret, but Spencer assumed Mona had a good reason for picking it. "So we need to figure out how to approach things from here."

"Uh huh."

"We know where we want the girls to end up, and we know roughly when. What we're missing is the _how_."

"I thought Toby had a plan," Spencer replied, confused.

"Yes, well…" Mona let her words trail off, something she often did for dramatic effect. At the moment, though, it was more annoying than dramatic.

"What is it, Mona?" Spencer asked, trying hard to keep her voice neutral. She remembered the first time she and Mona had seriously disagreed. It had been just after Mona had joined the team; Spencer wanted her to do some reconnaissance while she went and set up a trap for the girls. Mona had wanted to change roles, but Spencer had pulled the 'I'm in charge and you have to do what I say' card and Mona had reluctantly agreed. Now the roles were well and truly reversed, and it was only a matter of time before Mona did the same to her. She may only have temporarily bestowed the red coat upon her, but it still came with a lot of power.

"I'm just not sure Toby's all that enthusiastic about this," Mona said.

Spencer blinked. _Enthusiastic_? He was practically over the moon about the thought of going after the girls again. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's probably nothing," Mona said breezily, which only served to spark Spencer's curiosity.

"No, really, what is it?"

Mona shrugged. "I've just been wondering about Toby's motives," she said. "He's doing the right things – so far – but I'm not sure it's for the right reasons.

"I don't think any of us is in this for the right reasons," Spencer pointed out with a wry laugh. "Morality kind of went out the window when you guys helped me cover up Ali's murder."

"So why are you doing this then?"

The question caught Spencer so off-guard that she just stood there and stared for a full minute. Then she shook her head, trying to clear it, and to figure out where this was coming from. "What?"

"I'm just not sure I understand why you're doing this," Mona said. "The girls were good to you, weren't they? You were their friend. You don't have any issue with them. You covered up Ali's murder, and nobody besides the girls knows about it. What good is torturing them further going to do? What's that going to _get_ you, Spencer?"

For a moment Spencer was torn between defending herself and laying out the facts, but instead she chose to deflect the question. "Are you doubting my loyalty?"

She and Mona had had their share of disagreements – all of the team members had – but there had never been any doubt that they were on the same side. Ever since Toby approached her, ever since she asked Mona to join, they had formed a sort of camaraderie, their shared hatred of the girls uniting them and giving them a purpose. Why was Mona questioning that now?

"No, I'm not doubting your _loyalty_," Mona said after a pause. "I'm doubting your motives."

Spencer folded her arms, suddenly irritated. "I'm on your side, Mona. You know that. What more do you need?"

"Well, I just need to be able to trust you."

"You can trust me," Spencer assured her.

"I want to believe that," Mona said. "And after the sacrifices you've made, I appreciate where you're coming from. I just need to be sure we want the same things. We seem to be at a standstill now, and we need a way to move forward – as a team."

"It's okay, I have a plan."

"Do share."

"If I can get her out of the house tonight, can you arrange the rest of it?"

"You mean -"

"Yes. Can you do it?"

"Of course," Mona said, her eyes lighting up.

"Great. I'll text you when it's time."

"Spencer -"

Knowing that Mona was about to ask something along the lines of 'are you sure you want to do this?' or 'do you want me to get in touch with Toby?', she shook her head. "Mona, don't. I'll handle it."

Without giving Mona a chance to answer she spun around and stalked off through the trees, still annoyed by this little meeting. Mona had the red coat, and that meant she was in charge – for now. But that didn't mean she could go making assumptions and accusations like that. Spencer had already proven, time and again, whose side she was on. She'd almost killed her best friend a month ago; she'd broken her perfect attendance so she could flee to Ravenswood with the others. She'd stuck by Mona and Toby instead of the friends she'd known for years. Wasn't that enough?

Maybe this plan would help prove to them that she was still on their side. And even if it didn't, it would at least move them closer to their finale, which was going to be bigger – and more successful – than what had happened at the gala.

It was a short drive to her destination, and when she pulled up outside the apartment block she didn't give herself time to think. Mona had approved the plan, and if she didn't go through with it now the whole plan would fall apart. Besides, she told herself, she _wanted_ to do this. It would get them closer to their goal, and if it turned out to be fun too, well, that was just a bonus.

She took the stairs two at a time and reached the right floor in less than two minutes. She'd only been here a couple of times before, but she remembered the number. She marched up to the door and gave three short raps. A moment later the door opened, and the man who answered it looked surprised. The same kind of surprised someone might be if they dipped a spoon into a bowl of ice cream and ended up with a spoonful of Doritos; in another context Doritos would be fine, but it was so unexpected that surprise is the only possible response.

"Spencer," Ezra said, raising his eyebrows. "What – uh -"

"Hi, Mr Fitz," she said, fiddling with the straps of her shirt. She didn't normally fiddle; she was much too controlled for that. But she wanted to play the part of a typical schoolgirl, someone with nothing more on her mind than hanging out with her friends and maybe a test or two on the horizon. To complete the look she flashed him a bright smile.

"Um, it's… call me Ezra," he mumbled, peering down the hall like he was expecting Aria to turn up and offer some kind of explanation.

"I'm looking for Aria," she chirped. "She said she was thinking of swinging by later, so I thought..."

"Oh." He blinked a few times, like he was still trying to work out why she was standing on his doorstep. "Well, she's not here, so…"

"Damn," Spencer said, folding her arms as if annoyed. She figured Aria wasn't going to be here; it was her job to get her here. "Do you mind if I call her from your phone? Mine's dead, and I really need to talk to her."

"Uh, sure." He stepped back and gestured for her to come in, always the gentleman. "My landline's out of commission at the moment, but you can use my cell."

"Perfect," she said, smiling as he handed it to her. It _was_ perfect. Aria wouldn't decline a call from her boyfriend.

Ezra smiled, a little uneasily, and retired to the kitchen to give her some privacy. She perched on the edge of his couch and dialled Aria's number. Aria picked up after the second ring, and Spencer could almost hear the smile in her voice. After all, she had no idea what was about to happen.

"Hey Ezra," she said cheerfully.

Spencer smiled to herself, enjoying the way she could control this situation. She had all the power here. And she knew exactly how she wanted to use it.

"Oh, no," she said sweetly. "It's Spencer."

There followed a very satisfying silence.

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**Uh oh. This can't end well.**

Next chapter is going to be... emotional. Spencer and Aria finally talk for the first time since the gala, and it doesn't exactly go well.

Here's a little teaser for you guys:

_"No," she said at last, feeling her heart break even as she said it. "Mostly because I know you wouldn't be telling the truth."_


	10. Tears, tricks, trust, and truth?

**Emote Control - no worries. And that's exactly right; the girls don't have the best history with the police, so unless they had some serious evidence, and were prepared for their secrets to be public knowledge, they'd be reluctant to go to the authorities about Spencer.**  
**Runawaybaby555 - had to add some Haleb in there. ;) Apologies to your Sparia heart; I hope you like the chapter and I don't give you a heart attack!**  
**Forever Courage - messing with Ezra is the one sure way to get on Aria's bad side (well, that or going after her family). The relationship between all the members of the A-Team is complicated at best, so there's always going to be tension, especially between Spencer and Mona.**  
**insertnameherex - I have to admit, I do love the teasers. ;) On one hand it would be fun to be on the A-Team, but in another it would be terrifying/morally wrong/etc. So writing about it as far as I'm willing to go. XD Thanks as always for the review.**  
**SwanQueen4055 - thanks!**  
**ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - I hope this chapter's to your liking! There'll be plenty more Sparia scenes this story, so stay tuned.**  
**Aerize - 'evil' Spencer is fun to write, but you'll see that she's not all bad... well, she's not a robot at least.**  
**Sgdp1261 - I love drama too! So while writing this story was hell on my Sparia heart, it was also incredibly fun. I hope you like the chapter!**

**Now. This flashback, in case you can't tell, is from the S2 finale, during the masquerade ball, after Mona and Spencer go to A's lair. I think that's the only thing that needs explaining here. Enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter.**

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_The car slammed to a stop and Spencer felt herself being flung forwards. Her seatbelt stopped any serious damage, but she rubbed her shoulder as she turned to glare at Mona. "I know we want to be dramatic, but did you have to do that so suddenly?"_

_Mona just grinned in response, enjoying the thrill. She glanced out the window and saw bright lights approaching. "Get out," she said to Spencer, who quickly complied. They had to make this convincing, after all._

_Spencer stumbled around the car, trying her best to convey a sense of terror. Mona leapt out after her, but pulled up short as the approaching car failed to slow down. As she scrambled away Spencer squinted and saw that it was Hanna behind the wheel. The other girls were shouting at her, telling her to stop. She briefly wondered how they would have reacted if they'd found out Spencer was in charge of all this – would they try to run her over too?_

_Hanna brought the car to a stop a few feet away from Mona, who stared at it for a moment before letting out a shriek and sprinting towards Spencer. Hanna, Emily, and Aria jumped out of the car, eager to race to the rescue, unaware that they were the ones who would soon need saving._

_Mona tackled Spencer to the ground while the girls watched in horror, too far away to do anything._

_"Ouch," Spencer grumbled, making a show of trying to throw Mona off her. "Did you have to make that hurt so much?"_

_"All part of the plan, remember?" Mona murmured in her ear. Then she grabbed Spencer's shoulders and pulled her, growling, "Get up!"_

_Their fight sequence wasn't exactly choreographed; they were winging it, which meant they were mostly running on instinct and emotion. As Mona shoved Spencer against the tree, she realized she was definitely going to be sore tomorrow._

_Spencer heard one of the girls shout her name, and she let her eyes flicker to meet Mona's gaze, waiting for the signal. Mona nodded her head, just slightly, and Spencer took that as her cue. She pushed Mona away, watching as the other girl lost her footing on the cliff and grabbed for the tree._

_They hadn't planned this far ahead, but Spencer knew she couldn't go out of her way to save Mona now. They'd set this whole thing up so that the girls would know Mona was A, and that Spencer was innocent (although she doubted they even suspected her; she had quite a solid charade going on). The goal here was also for Mona to end up in Radley, because that's where she needed to be for the next part of the plan. Any serious bodily harm would definitely get in the way of that._

_Spencer grabbed Mona's arm and tried to haul her back up, but Mona pulled away a bit – not so obvious that the girls would notice, but obvious enough to make it clear what she wanted. Seeing Spencer's hesitation, she mouthed two words: _Let go_._

_In that split second, Spencer made her decision. Later she would always tell herself that she knew Mona wasn't going to die, that she planned it out and knew she was going to be okay, but there was always that part of her that wondered if she would have been willing to sacrifice Mona if it meant keeping her cover._

_"I'm sorry," she whispered as she let go. And as her accomplice tumbled to the ground Spencer couldn't help herself from crying out. "Mona!"_

_ Her friends reached her then, and she let herself fall into their arms, sobbing and trying to get her breath back. Mona wasn't moving. Spencer wanted to check if she was okay, but she knew that would be suspicious. It wasn't until after the police and paramedics arrived and the girls were talking to Dr Sullivan that Spencer heard the news she was hoping for._

_"She's alive!"_

_She schooled her face into a mask of horrified surprise, matching the expressions of Hanna, Emily, and Aria, but inside she was thrilled._

_They were right on schedule._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

When Aria finally regained the use of her vocal chords, all she could manage to choke out was, "What?"

"It's Spencer," said the voice again, so familiar and yet so different. It was definitely Spencer, but it didn't sound like the _old_ Spencer, the one who'd call Aria up to gossip about boys or, more often, talk about homework assignments; but neither did it sound entirely like the _new_ Spencer, the one whose greatest pleasure in life was apparently torturing her former friends.

"What – why do you have Ezra's phone?" Aria sank to her bed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A moment later she stood up again and started pacing, needing some kind of outlet for her nervous energy. What the hell was Spencer playing at?

"Oh, he lent it to me," Spencer said breezily. She waited just long enough for Aria's heart to sink to her stomach before adding, "I'm at his house right now, actually."

"You're…" Aria sat down on the bed again, her knees shaking too much for her to hold herself up. "You're at his house?"

"Yeah. We were just talking about you." She could tell by just the sound of her voice that Spencer was smirking, and she felt a sudden rush of anger.

She did not like the thought of Spencer alone there with Ezra. She knew what Spencer was capable of, but Ezra had no idea; heck, he'd probably invited her inside, thinking she was just one of Aria's friends. If he knew what she'd done, even easy-going Ezra would have slammed the door in her face.

"What are you doing?" Aria said forcefully, too wound up to go along with Spencer's games or tricks. "Spencer, I swear, if you hurt him -"

"Relax, Aria. I'm not going to hurt him."

Although the words were comforting, her tone was far from gentle. Aria's tight grip on her cell loosened slightly, but she didn't quite let herself feel relieved. "Then what do you want?"

"I just want to talk."

"To who? Ezra?"

She heard Spencer laugh, but it cut off abruptly as if she took a moment to remember herself. "No, Aria. I want to talk to you."

"Then why didn't you just call me, leave Ezra out of this?"

"Would you have answered?"

There was something in her voice that made Aria hesitate. It wasn't quite vulnerability – she was too far gone for that – but it was something softer, like for the first time she was unsure of herself. Aria wasn't sure how to answer; she couldn't bring herself to hate Spencer, although she had tried, but that didn't mean she trusted her, or even that she wanted to talk to her. Trying to move on after what Spencer had done last month was hard enough, but now she was back at it – and she'd already put Hanna in the hospital – Aria knew things were going to be even more difficult.

"You want to talk, Spencer? Fine. Meet me at the Middleton Playground in ten minutes."

There was a brief pause. Then Spencer said softly, "Thank you."

Aria felt something akin to a rush of affection for her former friend, but she pushed it away immediately. She couldn't hate her, but she also knew that she couldn't afford to love her anymore.

"If you hurt Ezra at all -" Aria said fiercely, reminding herself again of what Spencer could – and would – do to get what she wanted.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Spencer assured her. "I promise."

Spencer's promises didn't mean much, but Aria knew it was the best she was going to get. She hung up after a quick 'see you soon', and headed for her car. She got to the playground five minutes later. It was mostly empty, aside from a small group of high school girls playing a casual game of field hockey using what looked like a bread roll as a ball. But across the road were several cafes, which all had people sitting outside them, and there was a steady flow of people across this side of the street. It was bright, in the open, and if Spencer tried something there would be about a dozen witnesses.

She sat down on the swing and gently pushed herself back and forth, wondering what she was going to say. What were you supposed to say to a friend who'd tried to kill you and who'd been trying to destroy your life for months? 'Good to see you, oh and by the way, want to see the scar you left when you pressed a knife against my neck'?

"Hey."

The voice jerked her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Spencer standing in front of her. She'd carefully left a couple of feet between them, like she was almost expecting Aria to attack her – which, to be fair, wasn't out of the question. For a long moment Aria considered calling the police, but then she reminded herself of all the reasons they'd agreed against doing so. At least Spencer had the decency to be wearing something other than a black hoodie.

"Hey," Aria replied, her eyes drifting down to the swing beside her.

Spencer took the hint and settled on it, and they let a few minutes pass by in silence. Aria was on edge; even though she knew Spencer probably wouldn't try anything here, she still didn't feel safe. She couldn't shake the memories of everything Spencer and her team had done, and she couldn't reconcile those with the tender, caring Spencer she'd thought she was friends with. She wasn't sure which Spencer she was talking to here: the one who'd held her as she cried over yet another lost love, or the one who'd held a knife to her throat and admitted to killing one of their best friends.

"Thanks for meeting me," Spencer said at last, looking at her shoes. She was wearing the same kind of clothes she would have worn before: pastel-coloured blouse, sensible black pants, low-heeled black shoes. Her hair was pulled back and slightly curled, making her look more feminine than usual. But there was also a sharpness about her, and Aria couldn't figure out if it was in her features or in her manner.

"Sure," Aria said. She didn't know what else to say. There were still so many questions, so many feelings, and she couldn't even begin to start picking through them. Instead she waited for Spencer to speak again.

"I really wasn't going to hurt Ezra. I just… I needed to get you here."

"Right." Aria glanced at her, but Spencer's gaze was locked on the ground. "Why did you need to talk to me?"

Spencer took a deep breath, then gave her a sideways look. "I don't suppose 'I'm sorry' would cover it?"

Aria considered this, finding that she was a lot more cynical than she used to be – and she had the girl sitting beside her to thank for that. "No," she said at last, feeling her heart break even as she said it. "Mostly because I know you wouldn't be telling the truth."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Spencer looked down again, feeling a rush of an emotion that she couldn't give a name to – despite the fact that she'd once spent an entire night memorizing vocab lists full of words to describe emotions and feelings. She could think of a hundred different words, but none of them seemed just right. The best word she could come up with was 'twinge'. She felt a twinge, something unpleasant, and when she looked back up at Aria the twinge turned into a sort of squirming in her stomach. She needed to regain control of this situation, and fast.

"Can't say I don't deserve that," she said. "But if you don't trust me, why did you come here?"

Aria didn't respond right away, which made Spencer feel a little better. She'd said just enough to throw her, to shake her up a bit, and that gave her back her advantage. She watched as Aria slid her beaded bracelet up and down her arm, trying to come up with a reply.

"I guess I just… I've missed you," she said after a while, but she didn't raise her eyes.

It was Spencer's turn to be at a loss for words. She'd thought Aria had only shown up because she'd been convinced Spencer was going to hurt Ezra (which she probably would have, if she'd needed to). But here she was, admitting that she'd missed her. Aria may be a good liar, but she could also be painfully honest at times, and Spencer knew it was one of those times now. Her friend had missed her, even after all the horrors she'd put her through. She didn't give herself time to consider whether she'd missed her friend too; that kind of thinking was dangerous, and would only get in the way of her plan.

"I am sorry about everything," Spencer said tentatively. And in a way, she was. "I didn't mean for it to go as far as it did, and I wish it hadn't turned out the way it did."

Aria met her eyes again, an uncharacteristically cynical expression on her face. "You mean you wish you'd gotten away with it?"

"No," Spencer said quickly. "I mean… yeah, I guess. But -"

"Spencer, stop playing games." Aria's voice was sharp; it almost made Spencer flinch. "What do you want?"

"I don't…" Spencer looked down again, dragging the toe of her shoe through the dirt in an abstract pattern. "I don't know."

"If I ask you something, are you going to be honest?"

Spencer's eyes flicked upwards, but Aria wasn't looking at her. "I can try."

"Are you still on the A-Team?" It was phrased like a question, but it sounded more like an accusation.

There was no point denying it; Aria wouldn't buy it anyway. "Yeah."

A tense silence followed. Spencer tried to figure out what Aria was thinking. This whole situation was complicated, and even Spencer, with her 4.0 GPA, couldn't quite make sense of it. There was no reason for Aria to trust her, but that didn't mean that her feelings had vanished. She still cared for Spencer, although it went against all logic and reason. She was probably conflicted: on one hand, here was her old friend, maybe trying to reconnect; on the other, this same old friend was one who had almost gotten her arrested, who'd threatened to kill her, and who'd been tormenting her for months. If she was in her place, Spencer didn't know what she would do – and she didn't like to think about it. All she had to do was keep Aria distracted.

"So you're still after us," Aria said softly, beginning to push herself backwards and forwards on the swing.

Spencer nodded, hesitantly. If Aria reacted badly to this, she could storm off; and if she went straight back home, she could mess up Mona's plan. She needed to keep her here for long enough to make sure the plan went smoothly.

"You're the one who's been messaging me?" Aria surmised.

"Yeah, that was me. But -"

"No." Aria stopped swinging, suddenly seeming more confident. "I don't know why you brought me here, but I can't do this. I just can't. You were my friend, Spencer, and you tried to _kill_ me. You killed Alison. God, even now you're working with Mona and Toby to bring us down. This is all – it's too complicated, okay?"

"Aria -" she began, but Aria was already jumping down from the swing and marching off.

She paused at the edge of the playground, turning back with a look that was equal parts confused and threatening. "If you go near Ezra again, I'll tell the police what you did."

She was gone before Spencer could reply, but that didn't matter much because Spencer couldn't think of anything to say anyway. She turned her attention to her cell, quickly dialling in an all-too-familiar number.

"What is it?" Mona asked without so much as a greeting.

"Aria's leaving," Spencer said, watching her retreating figure. Aria didn't look back as she turned down the street and disappeared from sight. "Do you need more time, or should I let her go?"

"Let her go," Mona replied. "You've done what you needed to do. I'll take care of the rest."

Although it felt a little like she was being shut out, Spencer tried not to let it get to her. Mona was still in charge, so of course she'd want to be the one to see the plan through to the end.

"Do you need me to do anything else?"

"No, that's all." Mona paused, and Spencer pictured her in the lair, casually doing something creepy like playing with the dolls or flicking through photos of the girls. "Although, if you want to go and check out the place Toby found for the last phase of the plan, you're welcome to. Take a look and let me know what you think."

It was a suggestion rather than an order, but it still rubbed Spencer the wrong way. "Fine. Give me the address again?"

Mona recited the address for her, and then hung up. Neither of them were big on goodbyes, which suited them both well. As Spencer headed for her car she called another number.

"Hey Spence," Toby said, sounding slightly distracted.

"Hi Toby." The sound of his voice calmed her slightly, although she was still inexplicably frazzled from her meeting with Aria. "I'm going to go and check out that place you found. Do you want to come with?"

Toby exhaled sharply. "I can't."

"Oh." She wanted to ask him why he couldn't, but she had a feeling he wouldn't answer anyway. "That's okay. I'll just… I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Of course," Toby said. "Have fun."

And then, for the first time in months, he hung up without saying goodbye. Spencer stared at the screen, unsure how to interpret it, and knowing it shouldn't be bothering her this much. First Mona, now Toby. Was _everybody_ shutting her out? It seemed like the only person who actually wanted to talk to her was Aria, which made no sense given their history.

She pulled up outside the right address. It was a cabin, a little off the beaten path but not too difficult to find. She knew she should go in and have a look around, make sure it was suitable for the plan, but something held her in place. She unclipped her seatbelt and looked around, at the lake in the distance, the overgrown weeds spilling onto the path, the skeletal trees swaying in the breeze.

And then, to her utter surprise, she started to cry. She was brimming with some unidentifiable emotion, and tears were the only way to release the feelings she couldn't even begin to name. They flowed freely down her cheeks, and she made no effort to wipe them away. She didn't even try to figure out what she was feeling. She just sat in the car until the tears ran dry and her heart felt empty.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Thoughts, theories? What's Mona's plan? What's Spencer thinking? What's Aria going to do? What's Toby up to?  
You know I love hearing from you guys, so hit me up with your hypothesis and comments.  
See you tomorrow! :)**


	11. Good luck

**Runawaybaby555 - well, wouldn't you be protective of Ezra? He's such a sweetheart. 'In fact, I'm torturing you right now!' - I cannot tell you how much I laughed at that. Your reviews are so great. The relationship between Spencer and Aria is very strained... BUT, all hope is not lost. Or is it? You know I love messing with you guys. ;)  
Emote Control - thanks for the review. I actually mentioned this in the first chapter - Spencer only skipped two weeks of school (her parents were not thrilled), then said she was staying with a friend in Philly. :)  
Forever Courage - you're on the right track there. Obviously I won't tell you how, but keep your guesses coming. You're getting warmer.  
SwanQueen4055 - thank you! I'm glad you liked it.  
insertnameherex - that was actually my favorite line too. ;) Sparia is not necessarily over - they have another scene coming up in a couple of chapters, so stay tuned. Spencer does miss Aria, but... well, she's a little twisted, a little torn, and it remains to be seen which side she'll end up on - same with Toby. He's an each-way bet, and nobody really knows where his loyalties lie at the moment. You will find out eventually though.  
Sgdp1261 - Spencer is (or at least I'm trying to write her like she is) conflicted. That's the best word for it. Maybe she's starting to realize exactly what she's done, and she's just trying to work out a way to go forward from here. Or maybe she's just playing them. Toby is definitely hiding something - maybe you'll have more of an idea after this chapter. And Mona, of course, is just... well, she's Mona. What else can I say? XD**

**Enjoy the chapter, guys. :)**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

_Although she'd been planning this for weeks, there was one important thing Spencer had overlooked. She'd worked out when she needed to let Toby drug her, how Mona should lure Aria into the Fountain Room, how to ensure that Emily and Hanna would stay together. She'd personally addressed the envelopes with the invitations for the girls, careful not to make hers stand out. She'd even practiced her shocked face, so the others wouldn't suspect her when they opened them._

_What she hadn't considered was what she was going to wear. Mona had already bought her own outfit, going for practicality rather than style. Toby had an old suit he was going to wear, even though she'd offered to buy him a new one for the occasion. But Spencer didn't have anything._

_A few days before the gala she searched through her entire closet, tossing everything onto the bed in frustration. Melissa walked past the room, then did a double-take and peered around the door._

_"Wow, Spence. What's all this for?"_

_Spencer looked up and shrugged. "The country club gala," she said._

_"I didn't know you were going! Maybe you and I can carpool?"_

_So caught off-guard by her sister's uncharacteristically friendly manner, she mumbled, "Um, yeah. Maybe."_

_Melissa smiled and started to move away, but Spencer called her back._

_"Actually," Spencer said, "I don't think I can go with you. I just remembered, I'm actually going with my friends."_

_Her sister shrugged and walked away, apparently oblivious to the way that Spencer had faltered, ever so slightly, on the word 'friends'._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

After her meeting with Spencer, Aria felt unbearably tense. As she drove back to her house – having called Ezra to ascertain that he was actually okay; he'd been confused by her concern, but she'd brushed it off – she kept rolling her shoulders, trying to relieve the tension. It helped her muscles feel a little looser, but it did nothing to alleviate the unpleasant feelings roiling in her stomach. As she pulled up outside her house she heard her cell start ringing, and the sound made her jump. She breathed a sigh of relief when she checked the caller ID.

"Hey Em," she said, turning off the engine and reaching over for her bag. "What's up?"

"I finished talking to Paige."

"About?" It took her a few seconds to remember everything that had happened. She'd been so distracted by Spencer that she'd forgotten Emily had told Paige everything that had gone down between them – everything that Spencer had done. She smacked her forehead. "Right. Spencer. How'd she take it?"

"She was confused," Emily responded. "A little hurt that I didn't tell her earlier, but I think she understands why I couldn't."

"So she's okay with it now?" Aria asked, making her way up to the front door. She had to nudge Mike's bike out of the way; he must've dropped it on the path on his way to the house. She made a note to give him a lecture about it, remembering the time a few years ago when she'd tripped over it and ended up with a sprained wrist.

"I think so. I mean, she's gone into full protective mode, but I can handle that."

Aria paused on the doorstep, her attention caught by a small brown package in front of the door. It had her name written on the front, but when she picked it up she couldn't see a return address. Someone had hand-delivered it. She straightened up and spun around, on the off-chance whoever had left it was still there. But then she noticed that the first 'A' in her name was underlined, and she knew who'd left it. And –A wouldn't stick around.

"Hey Em, I've gotta go," she said, and hung up without waiting for a response.

She hurried inside, trying to ignore the way her skin prickled, and took the steps up to her room two at a time. Once she was safely inside her room with the door closed, she sat down cautiously on her bed and opened the package. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she was still surprised when a flash drive tumbled out. A Post-It note was stuck to it, bearing the message **Watch what happens when your brother's home alone –A**.

With trembling fingers and a frantically beating heart she opened up her laptop and inserted the flashdrive. She clicked on it when it had loaded, wondering what the heck she was about to see. They'd been sent so many things by –A, it was hard to even guess what this one would be; even the message didn't give much away.

It was a video, and the time-stamp showed that it was from this afternoon. With horror she realized that it was taken inside her house. At first it just showed her empty kitchen, but she could hear faint voices in the background. Somebody came into view, and as they turned around to pour a glass of juice she recognized her brother.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked someone off-screen. The person responded softly, but even though Aria could barely hear them she recognized her voice. But she wouldn't let herself believe it until a second later Hanna walked into view of the camera.

"I don't want something to drink," Hanna said, reaching out and resting her hand on top of Mike's. "I just want you."

Aria felt sick. What the hell was this? Hanna was with Caleb; and even if she wasn't, Mike was Aria's _brother_. He was off-limits. He was just a kid, for crying out loud.

Mike smiled, pushing the glass aside and intertwining his fingers with Hanna. "I was hoping you'd say that," he said.

Aria watched, in a horrified trance, as Mike took a tentative step towards Hanna, and she pulled him in to her. Although she didn't want to see what happened next, Aria wasn't quite quick enough to shut off her computer. She watched as Hanna kissed Mike. She watched as Mike kissed back. She watched as they broke apart, paused, and then Hanna pulled him back in.

At that point her senses kicked back in and she slammed her computer closed, breathing hard. She didn't need to see any more. She was torn between wanting to know what the heck she'd just seen and wanting to forget all about it. She knew she should call Hanna, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She just sat there staring at the computer, trying to erase the image from her mind. She'd been sitting there for almost ten minutes when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said absently, still reeling from this discovery.

She looked up when she heard footsteps, expecting to see her father or Mike, but when she saw who it was her heart stopped. She scrambled to her feet, automatically backing up. Toby held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, coming to a stop so as not to startle her any further.

"It's okay, Aria," he said gently. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Yes you are," Aria countered, ignoring the tiny bit of doubt that crept into her mind; Emily may think he was trying to help them, but she didn't quite buy it. "That's all you've been doing for months."

He hesitated. "I know. And I'm sorry. But we need to talk."

Aria took as much time as she could to consider her options. She could tell Toby to get out, and hope that he did. She could call Hanna and Emily and get them to come over, so Toby could talk to them all at once – unless this was a trap, in which case she could be leading them into trouble. She could listen to him, although that could potentially be putting herself at risk.

"Fine. Close the door."

As Toby pulled the door closed, Aria snatched a pair of scissors from the table beside her. She tucked them up her sleeve as back-up in case anything went wrong, and then sat down on her bed. Toby leaned against the door, a thoughtful look on his face. His gaze fell to the computer still sitting on her bed.

"You watched it?" he questioned, although he already knew the answer.

She nodded.

"It's not what it looks like," he said.

"One of my best friends seducing my brother? I should hope not."

Toby looked like he was about to smile, but he stopped himself. "Hanna had no choice."

Aria sat up straighter, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Mona has something on her," he explained. "She threatened to make it public knowledge if Hanna didn't go along with this plan."

That was logical, but there were still some holes. "Why? What was Mona hoping to get from this?"

"She's trying to split you guys up," Toby said. He pushed himself off the door and took a couple of steps forward. He hesitated at the hard look Aria gave him, and then took a cautious step backwards. He seemed to be doing his best to avoid alarming her. "She thought if she could make Hanna keep this a secret from you, it would cause enough friction for you two to have a fight."

"Uh huh." Aria surveyed Toby, trying to understand where he was coming from. He sounded genuine, but she knew he was easily capable of lying. He'd tricked them all into thinking he was on their side, so who was to say he wasn't just playing her now? "And you're telling me this because…?"

"Because this has gone on long enough." He folded his arms, suddenly seeming vulnerable. It was so different to how he was the last time Aria had seen him, on the night of the gala. He seemed smaller, somehow, less sure of himself. "Mona and Spencer… they don't just want to hurt you girls. They want to _destroy_ you. You and Alison… you did some terrible things. But you don't deserve this."

"Toby -" Aria started.

He cut her off. "Look, I don't have time to explain everything right now. But just trust me. Talk to Hanna about this. Sort it out. Don't let Mona get to you."

"I want to believe you're on our side, but after everything you've done…" Aria paused, biting her lip. "How can I trust you, Toby?"

"I can't make you trust me," he said, reaching for the door. He turned back to her, his eyes shining. "But I can prove that you can. I'm on your side."

He slipped out the door and closed it behind him. Aria let out the breath she'd been holding; half of her had been convinced Toby was going to attack her, so to get through this meeting unscathed was cause for celebration.

But there were so many more reasons to worry.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"You know what sucks?"

Spencer looked up from where she was lying on her stomach on the couch, flicking through a magazine. Mona was sitting on a stool by the counter, stirring sugar into a cup of tea. She spun around to face Spencer, steam rising from the cup like smoke.

"What sucks?" Spencer asked obligingly.

"While you're off at school all day, and Toby's looking for jobs, I'm stuck here by myself."

Spencer propped herself up on her elbows, watching as Mona took a sip of her tea, frowned, and added another spoonful of sugar. "You could try getting a hobby," she suggested.

"Like what?" Mona raised an eyebrow. "Knitting? Gardening?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of karate or horse riding," Spencer said. "Something active, adventurous. Something to get you out of the lair every now and then."

Mona sighed. "I suppose. But if I'm out doing all that, who's going to hold down the fort? Or come up with all the plans?"

Spencer was poised for a barbed retort – Mona had been undermining her for a while now, making jibes about who was in charge and just exactly whose fault their last failure had been – but the door flew open before she could say anything.

The girls turned their attention to Toby, who walked in carrying a box of chocolates. He greeted the girls, tossed the chocolates on the table, and sat down across from Spencer. Mona came over to join them, sensing that something was wrong.

"What's this, a bribe?" she asked, inclining her head towards the chocolates.

"Comfort food," Toby replied, opening the box and offering it to Spencer. She picked out a strawberry-filled one, took a delicate bite, and waited for Toby to elaborate.

"Bearer of bad news, huh?" Mona asked, choosing a plain heart-shaped chocolate. She dipped it in her tea, letting it soften, and then popped the whole thing in her mouth.

Toby closed the box and raised his eyes to the girls. "The plan didn't work. I know you wanted Aria and Hanna to fight, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. From what I can tell Aria took the video pretty well. She's just going to talk to Hanna about it."

Mona snorted. "Why are these girls all suddenly so mature? I miss all the drama."

"Should we try something else?" Spencer asked. "Maybe something to push them further apart."

"We could," Mona said thoughtfully, "or we could just cut our losses."

"You don't always have to do that, Mona," Toby said.

She glanced sharply at him. "Do what?"

"Choose the exact opposite plan to the one Spencer suggests."

"Toby," Spencer interjected. "It's okay. I think it's probably better just to let this one slide. We'll get them next time."

Toby looked like he wanted to argue further, but he reluctantly let it drop. "Fine. What's the next part of the plan?"

"Well, we might be ready for the… big bang, is that what we're calling it?"

Spencer nodded. "Seems appropriate."

"Already?" Toby raised his eyebrows. "Don't you think it's a bit soon?"

"No." Mona turned to him, tapping her finger against the edge of her cup. It was a warning signal; if Toby didn't back off and stop questioning her, someone was going to get hurt.

"At the risk of serious injury," Spencer said cautiously, "I think Toby's right."

"Of course you do," Mona said under her breath, but loud enough for the others to hear. She let a few moments pass, considering. Then she said, "Okay. You two are the agents on the field, so you let me know when you think it's time. I trust your judgment."

Spencer thought there was an edge to her voice, but she didn't comment on it. "Should we at least send them a message?" she asked. "Something suitably taunting. Who knows, the girls might be fragile enough that something like that could be enough to make them suspicious again."

"And at the very least it'll be fun," Toby added, with an appreciate look at Spencer. She knew he liked it when she was in full A-Team mode, planning and plotting and working out how to go after the girls. She smiled at him, picking out another chocolate and nibbling at it.

"Sure," Mona agreed. "Spence, you want to take care of that?"

"Yeah. I'll do it after the meeting," Spencer said. So Mona valued her enough to let her send messages on behalf of the team; that was worth something. "In the meantime, what are we going to do? We need to find a way to alleviate your boredom, or you're going to start chewing on wires or digging holes or something."

Mona glared at her. "I'm not a dog, Spencer."

"No, but you are a bitch," Spencer reminded her.

Mona rolled her eyes, but a grin was tugging at the corners of her mouth. Toby smirked.

"Touché," she said. "But in all seriousness, I do have a way to keep us all busy – for tomorrow, at least."

"Yeah? What's that?" Spencer found herself excited at the prospect of a job. She was still a little shaken by her talk with Aria; she hadn't expected it to be so difficult, and that combined with her breakdown at the cabin had been enough to put her in a bad mood. She'd only had a brief look at the cabin itself, too uneasy to want to spend much time by herself. She'd needed to be back in the lair, back with her team-mates, reminding herself why she was doing this.

"It's a game, of sorts," Mona said. She jumped down lightly from the stool, set her half-finished cup of tea on the counter, and disappeared into her room. A moment later she came back holding a small shoebox. Toby and Spencer shared a puzzled look as Mona put it down on the table in front of them and flipped open the lid; trust Mona to have some obscure way of going after the girls. Inside were three folded pieces of paper that looked like they'd been torn out of a notebook.

"One for each of the girls," she explained. "Just a couple of little ideas I came up with. I think I know a fair way to choose which target we'll each get."

She took all three pieces of paper and stuck them up on the dartboard that was hanging above the television set, equal distances apart. She handed a dart to Spencer, one to Toby, and kept one for herself. Then she grinned at them. "Good luck."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**What do you think Mona's got on Hanna? Whose side is Toby really on? Any idea what the 'big bang' is?  
**  
**Next chapter you'll find out who Spencer was spying on back at the bar, what happened between Hanna and Mike, and Aria will come across a familiar figure (any guesses who?). See you all there!**


	12. Not so easy now, is it?

**Runawaybaby555 - I love your reactions, that review seriously made my day. I adore Mona as well, as you know, so I'm having fun writing her - especially her interactions with Spencer, those two are great together. Also, just so you, next chapter will involve a scene with Aria and... Mike! Enjoy. :)  
insertnameherex - Mike was in the last episode; I'm a little disappointed they didn't throw him a welcome back party (he's been gone for, what, half a season at least?), but hey, at least we got to see him. Thanks for the review, as always; glad to know you're still reading and enjoying the story. As for whether or not Toby's good... well, you'll find out everyboody's loyalties in the end, but in the meantime it would probably pay to be suspicious of everyone. Including me. ;)  
Aerize - that's great! I love evil Spencer, and I'll admit that while I was still writing this story, I'd watch episodes of the show and be surprised when Spencer didn't try to kill her friends. XD  
Emote Control - thanks! And don't worry, I have no intentions of breaking up Haleb. The story's going to be either twenty one or twenty two chapters, I haven't quite decided yet. It's probably going to be the last, because... well, you'll see in the end. But maybe if there's enough interest I might delve back into this universe sometime.  
Forever Courage - good guess; you'll see this chapter whether you're right. And there's definitely a reason Toby is lying to the rest of the A-Team, which you'll find out eventually. And I actually love Mona when she's being nice AND when she's being a bitch; she's just such a fantastic character.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks.  
Sgdp1261 - 'killing friends is frowned upon in most establishments'; oh my gosh I laughed so hard at that. Perhaps someone should calmly explain that to Spence? :p I liked the dart board thing too, I figured it was very Mona. When we get to the 'big bang' I'm sure you'll regret looking forward to it. How's that for a teaser? ;)  
All right. Here you go, guys.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

_"That was you, right? In the belltower?"_

_Spencer and Mona were in their lair, the former sprawled on the couch and the other sorting through a pile of paper on the desk. It was the day after Ian's death, and although Spencer had contacted Toby and Mona and had them move the body, she hadn't yet asked which one of them had saved her._

_Mona looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Are you asking me if I killed Ian?"_

_"Did you?"_

_She set down her pen and met Spencer's eyes. Her expression was strangely open, almost… warm. Like she really did care about her. "Of course. You wouldn't be here if I hadn't."_

_It sounded like Mona was trying to defend her actions, trying to convince Spencer she'd done the right thing. Spencer nodded, acknowledging both the truth and the intentions behind it._

_"So the body -"_

_"- is right where you told us to put it," Mona finished. "Do you know what you want to do with it yet?"_

_Spencer leaned back, stretching luxuriously. "I haven't decided yet."_

_"You've got a few good options," Mona said, extracting a piece of paper from the pile and scanning through it. She giggled. "I particularly like number three."_

_She handed the paper to Spencer, who allowed herself a small, smug smile. "That's one of my favorites too."_

_At that moment Toby walked in, laden with cups of coffee and a bag from which was wafting a tantalising smell. He set these on the table and smiled at the two girls._

_"How's things here at headquarters?" he asked._

_"They're good." Spencer got up and snaked her arms around his waist, watching as he pulled various bakery items from the bag and arranged them on a plate. She inhaled deeply, loving the way he smelled, the way he felt under her hands._

_"We were just discussing what to do with Ian's body," Mona chimed in._

_Toby turned to her, halfway through buttering a croissant, and gave her a stern look. "Mona, must we talk about such morbid things when we're about to eat?"_

_"If you don't like talking about death, you're probably in the wrong line of work," Mona teased, flouncing over to them and picking up a jelly donut. She ran her finger along the edge, scooping up the excess jelly and licking it off her finger. If Spencer didn't know that Mona was still actively pursuing Noel, she'd almost be worried that she was trying to seduce Toby._

_"Whatever." Toby turned his attention away from her and broke off a piece of croissant which he delicately placed in Spencer's mouth._

_She swallowed, smiled, and then turned to face Mona. "Thank you, by the way."_

_Mona nodded, knowing what she was referring to. They shared a smile, and that was the end of it._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

If Aria had been able to do what she wanted, she would have skipped school on Tuesday. She would have stayed in bed all day, ignoring all texts and calls, and read a good book. But there was too much going on for her to ignore, so she forced herself to get to school early and was now waiting in the courtyard. She didn't want to have this conversation, but if Toby was right – and he probably was – then if she didn't talk to Hanna, -A would win. She didn't trust Toby, and she wasn't sure what his gameplan was, but it was common sense to know that fighting with Hanna wasn't going to help her situation.

Although she'd been trying to come up with something, by the time Hanna turned up she still had no idea what she was going to say. She hadn't told Hanna what she wanted to talk about, just that it was urgent. Hanna walked across the courtyard, drinking a low-fat smoothie and bopping in time to the music playing through her earphones. She reached Aria and sat down, finishing off her smoothie and tossing the cup in the trash. She pulled one of her earphones out and turned to Aria.

"What's up?"

Aria crossed one leg over the other, pressing her nails into her palm and trying to keep her cool. "I got a message from –A," she admitted.

That was enough to get Hanna to pull the other earphone out and shove her iPod into her pocket. "What did it say?"

"It wasn't so much what it said as what it showed me," Aria said carefully. "It was a video… of you and Mike."

Hanna turned pale. Normally when she was put on the spot she would touch up her appearance, doing her hair or fixing her mascara, but she was too nervous even to do that. She blinked a few times, and Aria wondered if she was going to try to lie her way out of this. –A could have anything on her, maybe even something so bad that she couldn't tell Aria about it. But then she started talking, her words falling over each other in her haste to speak. "Aria, I'm sorry, I didn't want you to find out that way, but –A made me promise not to tell anyone, and if I did they were going to tell everyone about my mom, and I couldn't let that happen -"

"Woah, woah, woah," Aria said, holding up her hands to stem the flow of words. "Han, slow down. I'm not mad at you."

Hanna's words trailed off and she stared at Aria in disbelief. "I made out with your brother, and you're not mad?"

"Well." It sounded worse when she put it like that. "I mean, maybe I'm a little mad. But mostly I'm confused. Toby told me -"

"Wait, what?"

Aria cursed herself. She'd been meaning to tell the girls that she'd spoken to Toby – and to Spencer – but this was definitely not the way to do it. "Uh, yeah. I talked to Toby. Or, I guess, he talked to me. He told me that this was just a set-up. –A is trying to split us up. And from what he's told Emily -"

"So Emily's spoken to him too?" Hanna said huffily. "Great. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, guys."

Aria felt a spark of irritation, but she made herself push it away. Hanna had every right to be frustrated. "I'm sorry, Han," she offered. "With everything going on I guess we just forgot to tell you. But the point is, -A set this up to trick us into fighting. And we can't let them do that. So why don't you just tell me what actually happened?"

Hanna chewed on her lip. "Well, you saw what happened, so I'll just explain why. A few days ago someone on the A-Team sent _me_ a video."

"What was it?"

Hanna hesitated, and then said in a rush, "It was of my mom and Wilden. Before you ask, no, it wasn't from that time they hooked up. This was recent, and they were arguing out the back of this bar. It turns out that somebody – three guesses who – sent something to the police station. It was a folder full of pictures of us, from… that night."

"What night?"

"The night that we agreed never happened," Hanna said bitterly. "When Ali's body was stolen."

"So… the police ended up with pictures of us at Ali's grave?"

Hanna nodded. "Apparently Wilden got them, and he talked to my mom about them… and she 'took care of it'."

Aria worked through his in her mind. "And if you didn't do what –A wanted, they'd expose your mother and Wilden? And in the process make sure the police got those pictures?"

"Yeah." Hanna looked down at her hands. "That's why I had to…"

Aria could see where she was coming from, but the whole thing still made her feel faintly sick. "But Hanna… you used Mike. He's my brother, and you -"

"No!" she said quickly, jerking her head up to look at Aria. "I didn't use him. He knew what was going on."

For a moment there was stunned silence. "W-what?" Aria stuttered. "Hanna, you didn't -"

"Tell him about –A? Of course not. But I did tell him that doing this was going to help you. And that seemed to be enough for him."

Aria wasn't sure it was enough for her, but it did help that Hanna hadn't mislead Mike. As long as he understood that Hanna wasn't actually interested in him, she could maybe live with it. She'd have to talk to Mike about this, but at least it seemed like –A's plan was going to fail.

"Are we okay?" Hanna asked after a while.

Aria reached out and squeezed Hanna's hand. "Yeah. We're okay."

The bell rang then, a convenient conclusion to their conversation. They talked to Emily at lunch, and managed to sort out the whole Toby issue. Hanna was still miffed that they hadn't told her sooner, but at least now they were all on the same page. None of them really trusted Toby, but he seemed to be the least malicious A-Team member at the moment. And if he was on their side, he could be a lot of help when it came down to whatever grand finale the team was planning.

With that weight lifted, Aria felt better than she had in a while. As long as she didn't think about Hanna kissing Mike, or Spencer having secret meetings with Mona, or any number of horrible things the A-Team could be planning, she felt almost relaxed.

She stopped by the Brew after school, feeling like she finally had enough room to breathe and take some time out. As she leaned against the counter, waiting for her order, she caught sight of a familiar figure in the back. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He saw her looking and a smile spread across his face as he waved her over.

"Hey Matt," she said, sitting down across from him. He seemed to be here alone, drinking coffee as he worked on a crossword puzzle. She hadn't seen him in over a month, not since she'd tried to find out whether he knew anything about –A.

"Aria," he said, tucking his pencil behind his ear and surveying her. "You look good."

She ducked her head. Every time she talked to him she felt a strange tingle, the kind of thing she'd be tempted to act on if she didn't already have a loving boyfriend. But Matt was subtle and almost polite in his flirting, and as long as he knew there was no future there she didn't mind the attention. "So how've you been?"

"Busy," he replied. "The soccer team I'm coaching made it to the finals, so we've been having extra training sessions."

"That sounds fun," she said.

"It is," he enthused. "But what about you? How did everything work out?"

She looked down, unsure how much to reveal. But her reluctance was answer enough.

"That bad, huh?" he said sympathetically. "Tough luck. I wish I could've been more help."

"It's okay," she assured him. "I just -"

She stopped as she heard someone call her name. Her order was ready. She hesitated, wishing she could stay here for longer. Matt was fun and easy to talk to, and even though she only knew him because of Alison, she still felt like he was far away from all the craziness in her life. She sighed.

"I guess I'd better go," she said, getting to her feet. "But it was nice seeing you."

"You too," he said warmly. "We should catch up sometime. I mean, if you wanted."

"I'd like that," she said, reciprocating his smile.

Her good feelings lasted exactly as long as it took to go up to the counter and pick up her coffee. As she took a sip her hand brushed against a note fluttering on the bottom of the takeaway cup. With a sinking heart she pulled off a Post-It note and read the message.

**Roses are red, violets are blue, how many of your friends are out to get you? –A.**

Without even meaning to she spun around and looked at Matt, who was calmly working on his crossword. She scanned the café, looking for a flash of movement or a telltale black hoodie, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She scrunched the note up and dropped it in the trash on her way out the door, trying to stop her heart from constricting as she was reminded, yet again, that –A was everywhere.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

There were many ways Spencer could imagine spending her Tuesday night: catching up on schoolwork, reading a good book, doing some Sudoku. Instead she was sitting in her car, in the dark, and carefully watching the entrance to the Brew. Through their little game of darts the previous night she'd ended up with Emily as a target. All of the plans had been similar enough: follow the girls, torment them as much as possible. Mona had given Spencer something particular to send to Emily, and she was just waiting for the right opportunity. Emily would be finishing work any moment now.

As she sat there she turned the radio on, volume right down so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She flipped through stations, remembering the time that Mona had sent Hanna a message via radiowaves. Spencer herself had been otherwise occupied (yet another one of her illicit kisses with Wren), but she'd taken note of Hanna's shocked expression. She reflected now that they really should branch into other mediums more; the same old paper notes and texts were getting a little passé.

She pulled a notebook out of her purse and started making a list of other ways they could send messages. She hit a snag after thirteen, but once she'd come up with two more (skywriting and sparklers) she leaned back in her seat and let her mind wander.

With a jolt she remembered that she'd forgotten to message Hanna. She'd intended to do so after the meeting last night, but after they'd sorted out their assignments she and Toby had ended up playing darts for a while, and somehow the topic had slipped her mind. She pulled her phone out now, and was halfway through composing a message before she stopped herself. It wouldn't make sense to send her a text now; that would just crowd her. Toby was following Hanna, so she should leave it to him.

A nagging voice in the back of her mind wondered if maybe there was another reason she didn't want to send the message, but she ignored that. Besides, she had Emily to focus on now. As if in response, the front door of the Brew jingled and Emily stepped out. Spencer perked up at once; time to get moving.

She watched as Emily made her way to her car, noting the fact that she didn't seem worried or paranoid. For a split second she was glad, and the phrase 'She deserves to feel safe' flitted through her mind. Then she reminded herself of why she was here. If Emily wasn't nervous, it meant they weren't doing their job properly. But she could fix that.

As Emily drove off Spencer pulled out after her. She was getting better at tailing people, and she was even starting to enjoy it. The thrill of the chase, of staying perfectly hidden, of watching without being seen. After a few minutes she realized Emily wasn't going to her house, and after another couple of blocks it became clear she wasn't going to either Aria's or Hanna's houses either.

Emily finally pulled up outside a house on the other side of town. It was nice, in an understated sort of way. Spencer had never been there before, but she had a feeling she knew whose house it was. Emily could be in there for quite a while, so she decided to take her chance now.

She scrolled through her cell – her A-phone, of course – and located the recording that Mona had sent her. It didn't take long to come up with a suitable message to accompany it.

**Think the girls are on your side? Think again. –A**

She sent the message, along with the recording, and waited. Over in the other car, Emily would be listening to an audio recording of Hanna and Aria. She hadn't listened to the full thing yet, so out of curiosity she let it play now.

"Spencer, Paige is bad news," Hanna's voice said, sounding frustrated.

"I don't trust her at all," Aria added, "and I don't think she's good for Emily."

Spencer remembered the day this had been taken. She'd been at her house with Hanna and Aria; Emily had busy helping her mother with something. Somehow conversation had turned to Paige, who'd been showing an interest in Emily lately. This was a long time ago, well before the gala, before Paige and Emily had started dating again, back when the girls hadn't known Paige too well. They'd even been leaning towards the idea that Paige could be part of the A-Team, which Spencer had found amusing; the thought of Paige, with her slightly skewed but tightly wound moral compass, doing anything to hurt poor, sweet Emily was actually laughable.

"Yeah, well, we should let Em make her own decisions," Spencer's voice said as the recording kept playing.

"Normally I would agree, but this is different. Paige is not a good person. We need to keep her away from Emily," Aria protested.

"Even if that means keeping things from her," Hanna said.

"Like that note Paige gave us?" Spencer questioned. Earlier that day Paige had approached them, looking for Emily. Unable to find her, she'd given them a note and made them promise to give it to Emily. Aria and Hanna had opened it, suspicious, and Spencer had been too curious to stop them. It had been a love letter, explaining Paige's residual feelings for Emily and a hope that she reciprocated them. Aria had taken the letter and hidden it, and they'd agreed not to tell Emily about it. The perfect thing to drive a wedge between them now.

"We agreed not to mention that again," Aria said firmly. "I don't want Paige hanging around Emily. And if Emily doesn't know that Paige still wants her, she'll have no reason to go after her."

There was a pause, and Spencer knew she'd been looking reluctant.

In response to her silence Hanna said, "Don't you remember that Paige tried to _drown_ Emily?"

"Fine," Spencer said. "We won't tell Emily. We'll just keep her away from Paige."

The recording ended. It wasn't going to be enough to split the girls apart for good – in fact, she was starting to wonder if that was even possible at all – but it would be enough to create tension. After Spencer and her team had been revealed, she knew that all suspicion from Paige had been lifted; after all, Emily had started dating her afterwards. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't trust her. But the fact that Aria and Hanna had kept this from Emily should be enough to cause a little friction, at least.

She heard a door slam, and she glanced across the road. Emily was standing on the sidewalk, her eyes scanning the apparently deserted street. Spencer quickly ducked down, heart beating fast. The car she was in wasn't one the girls would recognize; it was a cheap little thing she'd picked up at a dealership just out of town. It was small, easy to maneuver, and perfect for missions like this.

She stayed down until she heard a door opening, and then she cautiously peered out the window. Paige was standing in the door, greeting Emily with a heartfelt kiss. Emily shot one last look around and then disappeared inside. Spencer sat up straight as the front door to Paige's house swung closed.

The first part of the mission had been successful, but she was meant to keep an eye on Emily for as long as possible, just in case she went to talk to Aria or Hanna – the A-Team needed to know what the girls were talking about, how much they knew or suspected, and what they were going to do next. Spencer needed to stay one step ahead, something she used to be so good at.

But somehow, everything seemed a little bit more difficult now.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Teaser from the next chapter:**

_She turned back to them, her heart catching in her throat. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump – but she didn't know whether she was going to fly or fall. _

**See you there!**


	13. Let's meet, BFF

**Runawaybaby555 - interesting theory. It's possible someone will have a change of heart, but who? And how? Those are the questions. ;) Hanna is definitely feeling left out; I think at this point she feels like the others are almost pitying her, and, being Hanna, she's not just going to let that slide. There's certainly tension this chapter, and it's leading up to something that will happen next chapter. Stay tuned. :p  
Forever Courage - I'll give you a little teaser. Soon Spencer finds out that Toby's been lying to her - how's she going to react? And Spencer's definitely feeling some softer emotions, but will they be enough to get her to do the right thing? Read on to find out. ;)  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks!  
Sgdp1261 - well, it IS sort of their job. :p Good theory, but I won't tell you if you're right yet - but, you will find out next chapter. Keep reading (not that you'd randomly stop reading, but, y'know).**

**We're past the halfway point, and let me tell you, things are about to get intense. Next chapter marks the start of a spiral of events that lead to a dramatic finale, so I hope you all stick with me. And don't forget to review, I love hearing from you all. :)**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

_"You're –A." Spencer turned away from the bag of cashmere sweaters and saw Mona standing in the doorway, already dressed in her signature black hoodie. Mona grinned, and Spencer couldn't help laughing in response. "God, imagine how scary it would be if you actually were in charge of the A-Team, and I'd just figured it out."_

_"I'd probably have to knock you out to get you in the car," Mona said, giggling. "Then I'd threaten you until you agreed to join the team."_

_"Wow," Spencer said, leaning against the desk and giving Mona an appreciative look. "You don't do things by half, that's for sure."_

_"You wouldn't have asked me to join the team if you thought I'd slack off," Mona pointed out. "And I wouldn't be willing to go through with this plan if I didn't think it was worth it."_

_Although they'd devised this plan together, with Toby's help, Spencer had still been a little worried that Mona wasn't going to go through with it. This required a huge sacrifice on her part, and she knew she wouldn't be able to pay her back. But if it helped their plan, then they both knew that she had to do it._

_"Are you ready?" Spencer asked, taking one last look around the room. They'd been slowly accumulating photos of the girls, along with evidence and other significant objects (the doll replicas of the girls were a particular favorite; they were such fun), and combined they made the room look bright. It was on the verge of being cluttered, but Spencer wouldn't let it get past this stage. She may be plotting the downfall of her friends, but that didn't mean she didn't have time to keep things neat._

_"Ready, captain," Mona said, giving her a mock salute._

_Spencer followed her out to the car, running through the plan again in her head. They were silent for the first ten minutes of the drive, but then Spencer looked at her phone and realized that it was about time to get started._

_"Slow down, Mona," she said, as Mona took a hairpin corner going almost twice the speed limit._

_She rolled her eyes, but complied. The road was dark and slick with rain, and the last thing Spencer wanted was to crash before they could finish the plan._

_"So if you were going to threaten me into joining the team," Spencer said, "how would you do it?"_

_"Hmm." Mona tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. "I'd probably say something like 'You can join the A-Team, or you can disappear'. Then I'd glance down at the gun, all casual, and wait for your answer."_

_Spencer looked over at her, impressed. "You know, that would almost have been enough to make me consider the offer," she said. "If we ever need to convince anyone else to join the team, I'm putting you in charge of that."_

_"Bring it on," Mona said with a smile. She navigated a particularly nasty stretch of winding road, then asked, "So how are we going to play this? Should you call one of them, or -"_

_Spencer's phone started beeping. "Showtime."_

_She answered the video call from Aria, angling the phone so that the girls would be able to see Mona._

_"Y-you almost killed Hanna," Spencer stuttered, putting just enough fear into her voice to make the girls believe she was in danger. "She's my friend, I thought she was your friend too."_

_"It's easier to forgive an enemy than it is to forgive a friend," Mona said cryptically, and Spencer cocked her eyebrow. They hadn't rehearsed this, but Mona was playing the part beautifully._

_They kept going, playing their parts to make the girls believe Mona was the enemy and Spencer was in trouble. As they reached the sign for Look Out Point Mona accelerated, and for a split second Spencer was actually scared._

_"We are never going to make it to Look Out Point if you don't slow down," Spencer said, only half-pretending. It was important to keep up appearances, but they didn't need to actually put their lives in danger in order to do it._

_Aria hung up at that point, and Spencer put her phone back in her purse._

_"You think they got the message?" Mona asked._

_Spencer smiled. "They're walking right into it."_

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

On Wednesday morning Aria, yet again, had to be up early. She got dressed quickly and quietly, then made her way downstairs and made some breakfast. As she was waiting for the toast to cook she set the rest of the food on the table, then went back upstairs. She knocked cautiously on Mike's room, not wanting to wake their father up. A tired mumble came from within the room, which she took as an invitation to come in.

She nudged the door open. Mike was curled up under the covers, the sheets drawn all the way up over his head. He stirred slightly as she came into the room, but he didn't show any other signs of consciousness.

"Hey Mike," Aria said softly. "I made some breakfast. Want to come down and eat with me?"

He muttered something unintelligible, but the last word seemed to be 'pancakes'.

"Yes, I made pancakes," she said with a smile. "Now come on, or it's going to get cold."

She left, closing the door behind her, and finished getting the food ready. In the Montgomery house, breakfast was a very optional activity, one which they most often decided to skip. None of the household were morning people, and they had a habit of rubbing each other the wrong way in the mornings. It was best just to give each other space; but today was a special occasion.

Just as Aria was placing the last of the pancakes on a plate and setting up an array of sauces and toppings, Mike trudged down the stairs, bleary-eyed and stretching. His eyes lit up at the sight of the food, but as he took his place at the table the light faded into a sort of cautious suspicion.

"What's all this for?" he asked, hesitating before pulling the plate of toast towards him.

"No reason," Aria said cheerfully, drizzling maple syrup on her plate of pancakes. "I just felt like cooking."

He leaned back, took a bite of toast, and said, "Bullcrap. You never just feel like cooking."

"Mike," she chided. "Language. And don't talk with your mouth full."

He rolled his eyes, but swallowed before he spoke again. "Sorry, Mom," he teased. "But seriously. What's with all this?"

Aria rested her knife and fork on the table, surveying her brother. They hadn't always had the best relationship, but she did love him. And she was grateful for what he'd done to protect her. "I know what you and Hanna did," she admitted quietly.

He froze, a piece of toast halfway to his mouth. He narrowed his eyes a little, trying to gauge her expression, and she did her best to make it clear that she wasn't mad. He shrugged. "I figured she'd tell you about that," he said. "Are you going to -"

"Tell you why she needed to do that?" Aria supplied. "No. It's safer if you don't know. But what you did… it helped."

"Well, hey, if you need me to make out with any of your other friends -" he said, eyes twinkling.

"Don't push it," Aria replied, pointing her fork at him warningly.

He grinned. "Glad I could help."

"You do know it was just a one-time thing though, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know," he said, looking a little disappointed. "But you know you can, you know, talk to me and stuff, right? If there's someone or something bothering you -"

"I know, Mikey," she said, squeezing his hand in gratitude. "But I can handle this. I just… wanted to say thank you."

"Well, it was my pleasure," he said, "and I'd do it again if -"

"Don't even think about it," she said firmly, but she couldn't stop the smile that crept across her face. She'd missed this; the light-hearted teasing, the insincere insults. As they finished their breakfast, talking about lighter things like basketball games and what color their dad wanted to paint the study, she made a note to spend more time with her brother.

She drove him to school, and they said their goodbyes at the gate. She got there late so she didn't get a chance to talk to her friends until lunch. She slid into her usual seat beside Hanna, who was picking at her salad, and they waited for Emily. She turned up ten minutes later than usual, but didn't offer any excuse or explanation. Aria felt uneasy, but she wasn't sure why.

"Did anyone else get a message from –A yesterday?" she asked suddenly, surprising herself.

The other two glanced up at her. Hanna shot a nervous look around the cafeteria and then nodded. Emily frowned.

"Well, you would know, wouldn't you?" Emily said.

Aria blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Emily dropped her gaze and started pushing some pieces of pasta around her plate.

Hanna gave her a strange look, but didn't push it. "What did your message say?" she asked Aria.

"Don't trust anyone, maybe your friends are out to get you – the usual. What about yours?"

Hanna ducked her head, suddenly reluctant. But the way she was staring at her food gave Aria some clues about the nature of the message.

"Han, you should eat something," she said gently.

Her friend didn't acknowledge this. Instead she turned to Emily and said, "What about yours? What did –A say to you?"

"It wasn't what –A had to say," Emily said pointedly. Her cell went off and all three girls stiffened, but she relaxed when she read the message. "Paige wants to meet me. Unless you guys have a problem with that?"

Aria shared a startled glance with Hanna, thrown off by her hostility. "N-no," she said, "we don't have a problem with that."

"Good." Emily stood up and left without giving them a chance to reply.

Aria stared after her, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then she turned her attention back to Hanna, who still hadn't eaten anything. "Hanna, you should eat. If it was something –A said -"

"It's not always about –A," Hanna interrupted.

"But you've been acting weird ever since the messages started up again," Aria pointed out.

"So I wasn't acting weird when we found out one of our best friends had been trying to kill us?"

Aria slumped back in her chair, not sure what to say. She wanted to help Hanna, but she didn't know how. She wanted to fix things with Emily, but she didn't even know what was wrong. She wanted to stop Spencer and the A-Team, but more than that she wanted her friend back. She wanted to be a normal teenage girl, hanging out with her four closest friends, enjoying what would probably be the best years of their lives. And most of all, she didn't want to live in constant fear and paranoia.

Hanna had been watching her, and now she relented. She scooped up a forkful of salad and raised it to her mouth, but at that moment her cell went off. With a groan she put the fork down and read the message. Her face paled, and without waiting for an explanation Aria reached over and took her phone.

**And here I thought you had some self-control. Oh well. Maybe Caleb likes chubby girls. -A**

She felt anger bubble up instead her. For some reason it was these kinds of messages that got to her most. She could deal with physical attacks and nonspecific taunts, but when they used their weaknesses against them, these most intimate fears and insecurities, it made it more personal and somehow more painful.

"That is _it_," Aria muttered furiously, shoving Hanna's phone back at her and pulling her own out.

"Aria, what are you doing?"

She didn't answer. She quickly scanned the cafeteria, but there was no sign of the person she was looking for. That wasn't surprising. With only the briefest hesitation she composed her message.

**Back off, Spencer. I mean it.**

"Hey."

The voice made her jerk her head up. Lucas was standing at the head of their table, his lunch tray in one hand and a paperback copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ in the other. And he was looking not at Hanna but at Aria.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Um." She looked at Hanna, confused. "Now's not really a great time, Lucas."

Her phone buzzed, letting her know she had a message. She needed to go and read it – and deal with whatever it said – but she couldn't do that with Lucas hovering over her.

"It's really important," he pressed.

"Yeah," she said absently, itching to read the message. "I can't right now though. Maybe later?"

She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Aria -" he called after her, but she was already walking away.

She wasn't sure what kind of response she was hoping for, but her heart stopped when she read the message.

**I need to talk to you. Let's meet.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Wednesday at lunch, Spencer took up her customary seat in the corner of the cafeteria. She sat with a few other people, none of whom she'd spoken with; this was the table where people sat to get away from people, or to make it look like they had friends. Some sat there because they didn't fit in and didn't want to stand out, others because they wanted to make a statement. Spencer sat there because it was convenient.

From her vantage point she could see the girls. Hanna was there first, and for a while she just stared morosely at her plate. She'd started tentatively picking at her salad when Aria turned up, looking flustered, and a while later Emily showed up. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but she'd become practiced in reading body language and facial expressions. As soon as Emily sat down the girls started talking, and for a second she was startled. There was still an empty chair, someone they should be waiting for. But they weren't waiting anymore, and she had to stop a faint sting of loss as they jumped into the conversation, three musketeers no longer looking for their fourth.

They were talking about her, she could tell that much. The way they kept darting looks around the cafeteria, trying to hide their apprehension, was something she was very familiar with. She'd had to fake that same expression countless times before so as not to draw suspicion on herself. Now she was on the other side of it, and that was better, right?

That meant they were probably talking about the messages they'd all gotten last night. She knew what each of them had been, and now she got to see how they reacted to them. The girls all seemed tense, which was understandable, and it looked like they were taking out their frustrations on each other. Even as she thought that, Emily stood up and all but stormed off, leaving a puzzled Hanna and Aria in her wake.

Spencer hesitated, torn, and then quickly slipped out of the cafeteria. She needed to find out where Emily was going; since she was the only A-Team member who was at school, it was her job to keep an eye on all the girls. Aria and Hanna didn't look like they were going anywhere, but who knew what Emily was up to?

She couldn't see her former friend, so she decided to start her search at the lockers. She'd only made it a few steps when her phone went off. She came to a complete stop, thrown off by the noise. It wasn't her A-phone, it was her personal one. The only people who messaged her on that one were her family, who rarely ever texted her, and… her friends.

She couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped her lips, but she did catch herself in time to stop the name from slipping through as she saw who the text was from.

**Back off, Spencer. I mean it.**

This was the first time any of the girls had contacted her in weeks, and she was so taken aback that she didn't know what to do. Her first thought was that she should report this to Mona, who would probably come up with a way to use this against the girls. Then she realized that not so long ago, she would have come up with a plan herself. What was stopping her now?

Without giving herself time to consider it, she hit the Reply button.

**I need to talk to you. Let's meet.**

Aria replied quickly: **Where?**

She thought, tapping her finger against the back of her phone. She needed somewhere in the open so Aria would feel safe, but also somewhere that her team members could hide. Although she was trying to convince Aria that this wasn't a setup, she had a feeling the other girl knew it was. She'd have to approach this carefully if she was going to make the plan work.

**The back of the Brew. 6pm. Come alone.**

She sent the message, and then sent another one for authenticity. **Don't tell anyone. If Mona finds out I'm meeting you…**

The reply was almost instant. **She won't. See you there.**

Spencer leaned against the wall, running a hand through her hair. She needed to tell Mona about the plan so they could work out logistics. But something was holding her back. For less than a heartbeat she considered not telling Mona, just going to the Brew to talk to Aria. But that was ridiculous.

Still, she didn't have to tell Mona right away. She put her phone back in her bag and headed for her next class, but stopped at the door to the cafeteria. Aria was nowhere to be seen, but Hanna was still sitting at the table. And beside her was Lucas, who was leaning towards her and speaking quietly. Spencer quickly ducked back behind the door, breathing hard. Lucas? Why was he talking to Hanna? With the things he knew…

The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she stayed pressed against the wall as the students slowly filed out of the cafeteria. Lucas was one of the last ones out, and luckily he was alone. He caught sight of Spencer and balked.

"Hey Lucas," she said, a warning tone in her voice. "Good chat?"

"It was fine," he said stiffly. "And don't worry. I didn't tell her about your plan."

"No," Spencer said mildly, "I don't suppose you did. You know what would happen if they found out, of course."

He glared at her, but the effect was ruined by the way his hands were shaking. He tucked them into his pockets and said, "Right. Is there anything you needed, Spencer? Or am I free to go?"

She held her arms wide, indicating that he could do as he liked. "I'll be in touch, Lucas."

"I look forward to it," he muttered darkly, and strode off down the hall.

For the rest of the day Spencer found herself reluctantly involved in an internal argument. She knew she should tell Mona about her meeting with Aria, and about Lucas talking to Hanna. She knew that, and yet she didn't tell her. She kept to herself all day, avoiding eye contact as usual, and shot out of her last class so quickly that the teacher stared after her in shock. She needed to call Mona, but all she wanted to do was ditch her damn black hoodie for the day and just talk to her former friend.

She met up with Toby at his place and then they drove together to the lair. She was silent the whole way there, but he could sense that pushing wouldn't do any good. He even took the lead with Mona, fielding her questions about their plans and their progress, while Spencer sat down on the couch and examined her hands. She'd done so many things with them, from caressing Toby to almost killing Aria; she'd hurt and healed, held and loved and pushed away. And now she had to make one of the biggest choices of her life.

Six o'clock was approaching too quickly. She needed more time to plan and think and sort everything out – just the thought of having to 'wing it' made her hands clammy – but she knew she didn't have time. At five forty five she slid her boots back on, finished her cup of coffee, and headed for the door. She wasn't wearing her black hoodie, but it didn't stop her from feeling… sneaky. Mona and Toby looked up as she reached the door.

"Where you going, Spence?" Toby asked curiously.

She turned back to them, her heart catching in her throat. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump – but she didn't know whether she was going to fly or fall. She looked from Toby to Mona and back again, and then instead of jumping she took a step back. To safety, or to cowardice; she wasn't sure which. "I'm going to meet Aria," she admitted. "I think it's time for the next phase of our plan."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Hmm, what's up with Lucas? What does he know? And what do you think the next phase of the plan is?**

**Something very big happens next chapter. It involves a Sparia scene, the big bang, and someone ending up in hospital. It's one of my favorite chapters, so please leave lots of reviews for this one - I want to know people are interested before I post the next one. Things are going to happen very quickly after this, and I really hope you like it. See you next chapter!**


	14. The big bAng, emphasis on the bang

**A/N at the end of the chapter. This is one of my favorite chapters, so enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think.**

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_It was the day of the gala. The girls were all quiet because they were worried about what A was planning; all except for Spencer, who was reticent for a different reason. While the others were lost in thoughts about the consequences should A succeed, Spencer was worried about what would happen if her plans went wrong. She and the team had been working on this for so long that it gave her a spike of anxiety if she contemplated what would happen if they failed, so she tried not to think about it._

Besides_, she soothed herself as she slid into her dress, _they would never suspect me.

_At the last minute she'd decided not to go with the bright red dress she'd bought from the new little boutique in town. It was a cute dress, and she absolutely killed it, but she felt like it would be a little conspicuous. She wanted people to take notice of her, of course, but when she found out that the other girls were all wearing dark colors, she decided that she didn't want to stand out quite that much._

_"You look great Aria," she said, coming up behind her so she could look at herself in the mirror._

_The smaller girl jumped, taken by surprise, but she hid it quickly. "Thanks. You look great too."_

_Everyone was on edge, and Spencer could almost feel the tension in the air. But while the other girls were drowning in it, she was swimming. Fear, anticipation, worry… she'd grown to love them. Tonight would be the night when it finally ended._

_And god, was she ready for that._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

This was a setup. Aria was reasonably sure of that. But some part of her was hoping that maybe she could talk some sense into Spencer, or at the very least she could get some answers. She missed the person Spencer used to be – or had pretended to be – and if there was any part of her left, she thought she might be able to reach it. She needed to put an end to this, and she couldn't think of any other way.

She folded her arms and started pacing. It was five to six, but she knew that those remaining five minutes would feel like an eternity. She was most likely walking into a trap, and the thought of that did not sit well with her. She checked her messages again, making sure the other two were in position. After she'd set this meeting up with Spencer she'd told Hanna and Emily; she'd learned her lesson about trying to take on the A-Team alone. The other two were waiting nearby, out of sight but close enough to come running if anything went wrong – which, knowing –A, was almost bound to happen.

"Hey."

The voice made her jerk around. Spencer was standing a few feet away, looking strangely unsure of herself. Aria felt an urge to wave to her, but under the circumstances she knew how ridiculous that would be. Instead she settled for nodding her head, the closest thing to a greeting she could offer.

"I'm glad you messaged me," Spencer said. She took a step forward, but quickly stopped moving as she saw the way Aria tensed up. She held up her hands to show that she wasn't armed, and to imply that she wasn't going to hurt her. "It's okay, Aria. I'm not going to hurt you."

"No," Aria said, narrowing her eyes, "you would never do that."

The words created a barrier between them. Aria knew that if she let those tender feelings, the ones she used to feel towards the old Spencer, get to her, Spencer might mistake it for weakness. But if she was too harsh she could push Spencer so far away that she could never return. She needed to find a balance between being strong enough to keep Spencer at bay and warm enough to try to connect to her former friend.

"Are you alone?" Spencer asked, looking around.

"Yes," Aria replied quickly. "Are you?"

Spencer nodded. She bit her lip; Aria wanted to believe it was because she was genuinely conflicted, but it was probably just for show. "I know there's probably some things you want to say to me. So… go ahead."

There were about a thousand things Aria wanted to say to her. She picked her way through them, trying to find the most important one to start with, but all of the insults and the questions seemed irrelevant now. But then she reminded herself of how the A-Team had been tormenting them, exposing their darkest secrets and highlighting their greatest faults and insecurities. She thought of the way Hanna's face had crumpled at that last text, of how Emily had stormed off because of the recording she'd gotten last night (she'd met up with them after school and explained what had happened; after assuring her that they had nothing against Paige now, she finally let the matter drop). She thought of how the girl standing in front of her was the reason for so much of the heartache of the past year.

"Do you hate me?" she asked, her voice sounding unnaturally high.

"Hate you?" Spencer echoed. "No. I don't."

Aria took the answer in, letting it drift around her mind as she searched for weaknesses or insincerity. If this had been before the night at the gala she would have thought that Spencer was being sincere, but she'd learned to be more cautious now. Still, it wasn't entirely unconvincing.

"Would it be easier if I did?"

The question startled Aria. She looked at the person who had once been her best friend. Would it be easier if they had never been friends, if Spencer had been playing her all along? If there had only ever been hate between them, and the love Aria had thought the other girl felt for her was a lie?

"I think, in a way, it would," Aria admitted softly. When she'd sent Spencer that message earlier in the day, she'd been feeling nothing but anger, fuelled by the desire to protect her friends. But now that she was actually here, she was reminded again of how complicated her feelings towards Spencer were. There was, to her horror, more love than hate. It would be easier if Aria could hate her; she could see her as the enemy, do whatever she needed to do in order to bring her down. But she couldn't stop seeing her as her friend.

"I know what you mean," Spencer said. "I -"

She was interrupted by her cell going off. There was a tense moment as they both considered what that would mean. There were few people who would be calling Spencer, and most of them were people Aria would rather avoid. But if Spencer wanted to hurt her, she would, regardless of whether or not she took this call.

"Go on," Aria said. "Take it."

Spencer gave her a curious look, seeming like she might actually argue, but then she just pulled out her phone and answered it. "Hi Mom," she said, and then rolled her eyes. "No. Now's not really a great time. Raincheck? Yeah. Okay. See you soon."

Spencer hung up. "Thanks for letting me take it," she said. "Mom's been weirdly overprotective since I got back."

Aria resisted the urge to point out that her mother should be protecting people _from_ her daughter. "It's fine. I… Spencer, why are you still after us?"

She wasn't sure where that burst of courage had come from, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. Some part of her needed to know why Spencer was still doing this, but most of her was terrified to hear the answer. She didn't want to know what could make someone turn against her friends like that. But the burst of courage sparked again, and she kept going.

"Are you still trying to frame us for Ali's murder? Because you know you're not going to get away with that. And if this is about revenge, what did we ever do to you? We were your _friends_. You were our friend, and you betrayed us. And now you're still after us. Is it because of Mona and Toby? Are they putting you up to this? Or was it your idea? Did -"

"Aria."

"No," Aria went on, her anger overflowing. "No, Spencer, you at least owe it to me to me to let me finish. After all you've done to us -"

"Aria!"

"What?" she snapped.

"Get out of the way!"

Before she had time to figure out what Spencer meant, she became aware of a dim sound behind her. It was joltingly familiar, and suddenly she was back in the carpark at the bar, watching in frozen horror as a car sped towards her. But this time she knew Spencer wasn't going to pull her out of the way. She turned around, feeling like everything was moving in slow motion, and watched as the dark SUV sped towards them. It was the only thing moving at regular speed; her legs, her mind, they were moving too slowly to keep up.

Through the fog that enveloped her mind she thought she heard someone say 'run', and someone else calling out her name, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Suddenly something shoved her, and she took a few steps. Then her legs remembered how to work, and she was running, her legs almost tripping over each other. She heard footsteps going in the other direction, and for a second she let herself feel relieved; if Spencer was running the other way, it meant she wasn't going to push her in front of the car at least.

The car accelerated, and without thinking Aria turned to look. As soon as the headlights hit her she was frozen again, knowing that if she didn't get out of the way she was going to die. For one horrible moment she wondered if that would be so bad. The car was heading straight for her, and she braced herself for the impact.

But at the last second the car swerved. At that moment it too became slow motion, and she could see what was happening. It had turned towards Spencer, who had stopped running and was staring at it in horror. It would hit her in a matter of seconds.

Aria hesitated for a split second, and then she sprinted towards Spencer.

"Move!" she shouted. "Spencer, get out of the way!"

She launched herself at her former friend, and as soon as her feet left the ground time started up again. Then time tumbled over itself, speeding up until it seemed like the next few minutes happened all at once. Aria slammed into Spencer, sending her stumbling sideways. Brakes squealed. Someone shouted. Aria felt blinding pain and her vision went black. There was a sharp crack as she crashed to the ground. Someone screamed. She tasted blood.

She knew she was going to die.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Everything was happening too quickly for Spencer to be able to process. The car had been heading for Aria, according to Mona's plan, but at the last second it had swerved towards her. She'd been too shocked to move, but something had knocked her out of the way. She was just out of the way of the car, which had skidded to a stop. Someone was shouting, and as she turned to look at the car she saw a limp figure lying on the ground. Then it clicked. _Aria_ had pushed her out of the way.

Aria was slumped on the ground, and aside from a scream when she first went down, she was mostly quiet. Spencer forced her tired legs to move and dashed over to her. She dropped to her knees beside her, trying to assess the damage. Nothing was obviously out of place: no bones poking through skin, no limbs at strange angles. But it was still clear that Aria was badly hurt. Her eyes were closed and she was barely breathing. She was bleeding from somewhere, but Spencer couldn't tell where.

She heard someone calling her name and she turned to see Lucas jump out of the SUV and start to race towards her. Given that he'd just tried to kill her, she wasn't about to stick around to see what he had to say. In the distance she could hear people shouting – it sounded like Emily and Hanna – of course Aria wouldn't have come alone. They'd be able to take care of her. She looked down at her former friend, broken and bleeding, and felt a rush of the emotions she'd been trying to suppress for months.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and then she scrambled backwards, ducked past Lucas, and fled the scene.

Lucas didn't even try to stop her. His attention was all on Aria, and knowing him he was probably overcome with guilt. She wished she hadn't gotten him involved. At first it had been good, having someone outside the team but still 'willing' to help – she used the term loosely because, technically, she and her team were blackmailing him into helping. They'd just used him for a few odd jobs: giving Emily a massage, writing messages, taking videos. Then last month they'd asked him to pretend he was going to run over Aria, just to spook her. Spencer had planned it so that she would be there and able to save her, and Mona had thought it was a pretty good plan.

For a couple of weeks Mona had been toying with the idea of doing it again, only this time really hitting her. It wouldn't be enough to kill her, just enough to land her in the hospital for a few days. Spencer had agreed, and she'd really thought she was okay with it. But seeing Aria like that tonight made her wonder if she'd made a huge mistake. Something had gone horribly wrong, that was for sure. Why had Lucas swerved towards her? Why had he been going so fast? And why, for the love of god, had Aria saved her?

The burning feeling in her chest drew attention to the fact that she'd been running for a long time. She slowed to a gentle jog, taking deep breaths. Her car was back at the Brew, but she didn't feel like circling back around to get it. The girls could still be there, and she didn't want to run into them.

She stopped at a playground, leaning against the park bench, and called Toby.

"Hey Spence," he said warmly. "How'd the plan go?"

She chewed on a thumbnail. In all honesty she thought it had gone terribly, but the team had definitely achieved their goal. "It was fine," she said. "But I had to get out of there pretty quick. My car's still there. Can you give me a lift?"

"Sure," he said. "Where are you?"

She gave him the name of the nearest street, and he hung up after promising to be there soon. It was dark now, and starting to get cold. She wished she'd brought her hoodie, and she would just about kill for that red coat – even though she no longer had the authority to wear it. She wrapped her arms around herself and started pacing. A few minutes later headlights swept down the empty street, and she had to stop the panic rising in her. When she'd thought Lucas was going to hit her, she had felt absolutely terrified. And now that she was safe, she somehow didn't feel much better.

Toby pulled over and she climbed into the car, grateful for the warmth. She slammed the door closed and he drove off, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on Spencer's hand. He shot her a sideways look. "God, Spence, you're shaking. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell, not because she actually wanted to talk to Mona but because she needed something to keep her hands busy. Mona picked up on the third ring.

"Hey Mona," Spencer said.

"Spencer." Mona's voice was guarded, but not hostile. "Everything went according to plan, I hope?"

It hadn't. When Mona had called earlier, Spencer had tried to get her to postpone the plan; but she'd been unable to talk freely because Aria was there, so she'd pretended it was just her mother calling. She wasn't sure Aria had bought it, but that was the least of her worries right now. And Mona obviously hadn't listened to her anyway. She tried to hold back her irritation as she replied.

"Yes, Mona. The plan went well. Lucas hit the right target. She should be on her way to the hospital now."

"Excellent. I can expect you back soon, then?"

Spencer looked out the window, watching houses whiz past and streetlights blur. She didn't want to go back to the lair, but where else did she have to go?

"Yeah. I'll see you soon."

"Everything okay back at headquarters?" Toby asked.

"Mhm," Spencer answered, trying to keep her voice light. But there was no fooling Toby.

"Spence, if something's bothering you -"

"I'm fine," she assured him. They were a few minutes away from the lair when she changed her mind. "Actually, I'm not… I don't want to go back just yet. Can we -"

"Of course."

He slowed down and took the next corner, and she closed her eyes, rubbing the heels of her hands into her temples. She just wanted this nightmarish day to be over. She opened her eyes when he slowed down again, and she saw where they were. As they started walking towards Toby's apartment, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in to him.

"It's gonna be okay, Spence," he said softly.

She leaned against him, the weight of words unsaid pressing down on her. She wanted to tell him that she thought she'd made a mistake. She wished she could find the words to explain how she felt when Aria saved her. Instead she let Toby lead her inside and silently settled down on the couch, resting her head against his chest and trying not to think about how messy everything was.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Uh oh, things don't look good...**

**Emote Control - so that's how Lucas fits into the story. What do you think?  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks.  
Forever Courage - all good guesses. You were sort of on the right track, but the fun thing with this story is that it can literally go anywhere, so predicting what's going to happen is difficult. Keep your theories coming though!  
FluteNinjaEm - thank you for your kind words! I love how much detail you've gone into. After this chapter, it looks like you've got the right idea - Spencer does seem to be having second thoughts. But do you think they'll be enough to convince her to break away from the A-Team and go back to her 'friends'?  
Runawaybaby555 - how'd you like that Sparia? There's always time for a Sparia save. ;) Maybe your faith in Spencer wasn't entirely misplaced. Also if you whispered 'no' last chapter, I wonder what your reaction was this time. :p  
Sgdp1261 - did this chapter live up to your expectations? And you're right, all Sparia scenes are good... even if they're arguing, I still find them adorable. XD Spencer is definitely torn. She's got two paths she can take, and neither of them guarantee her safety. So it's an each way bet with her at this stage.**

**All right. Next chapter is also going to be eventful. Spencer will have a confrontation with Hanna and Emily - and with Toby. It's going to be intense.**

**Here's a little teaser:**

_"You've been back for less than two weeks and you've already put two of us in the hospital. How can we believe anything you say?"_**  
If you can guess who says that, I'll... I don't know. You come up with a reward and I'll give you that. :p**


	15. Who's got you now?

**A/N at the end again. Enjoy the chapter.**

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_Two months after Mona was admitted to Radley, Spencer started planning how to get her out. She had a couple of the security codes, but that wasn't enough. She needed the override codes. She considered going to Caleb and asking him to see what he could do, but chances were that he would tell Hanna about it. If the girls learned that she was trying to get into Radley, or get someone out, she'd have to come up with a damn good lie. She'd rather avoid the hassle._

_She was sitting in their lair, her fingers flying over the keys as she tried every trick she knew to get into the system. She'd learned a lot from Caleb and Mona, and she'd filled in the blanks by looking it up online. She was by no means an expert hacker, but she could usually get things done._

_"You okay, Spence?" Toby asked from across the room._

_She stopped typing, resting her hands on the keyboard, and looked at him over the top of the laptop. "I'm fine," she replied. "Just having trouble getting these codes."_

_"Want me to take a look at them?" he asked._

_"Because you're such an expert?" she scoffed, but she slid the laptop across the table as an invitation._

_He sat down across from her, pulled the laptop to him, and started typing. For all she knew he was typing nonsense, but it was nice to have the pressure lifted for a while. She hadn't realized it would be this difficult, and ironically the one who was most likely to be able to work through this kind of thing was Mona herself._

_After a few minutes Toby closed the laptop, exhaling slowly._

_"No luck?" Spencer asked._

_He shook his head. "I'm not sure we should do this."_

_"Do what?"_

_He pushed the laptop back to her, but she didn't open it. Spencer was watching him carefully, confused by the sudden change in his tone._

_"Get Mona out."_

_She tilted her head. "You're joking, right? We can't just leave her in here."_

_"What if we did?" Toby pressed, reaching for her hand. "Would it be so bad?"_

_"Uh, yeah." Spencer pulled her hand away, looking at him like she'd never seen him before. "We need her on the team, Toby. And even if we didn't, that girl scares me. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."_

_"Come on, you could take her," he said with a seductive smile._

_"I never said I couldn't." Spencer stood up, going over to the counter. She rested her palms on it, thinking. Could they do it without Mona? Possibly. Should they? Probably not. Then she turned back to him. "I just don't want to ever find out. Mona's on our side, Toby. And she's valuable to us. We don't want to lose her."_

_"Right." He sounded huffy, but he was trying his best to be supportive. "It's your call, Red Coat."_

_"Don't call me that," she said exasperatedly. He bristled at her tone, so she went over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "We can do this, Tobes. Just trust me."_

_He twisted around so he could plant a kiss on her cheek. "I trust you," he said quietly._

_Spencer was satisfied that she'd placated him for now, but she knew this wouldn't be the end of it._

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Thursday morning dawned slowly, the sun rising at the same pace as Aria's memories drifted back to her. She kept her eyes closed, the images from last night flickering against her eyelids. The bright headlights. Spencer's terrified face. The streetlights reflecting off the sleek surface of the car, in the few short seconds before it collided with her and sent her flying. She remembered the shattering pain of the impact, but not much after that. Her whole body had felt broken, and she could feel blood seeping from her stomach and her arm. She could hear people shouting her name, rapid footsteps, and screaming. Eventually she realized that she was the one screaming, and the noise faded to a low moan. She'd felt someone rest their hand on her shoulder, someone else shout something about calling 911, and then she'd blacked out.

She'd been in and out of consciousness all night, and it wasn't until the morning that she'd been awake enough to take in her surroundings. She was in the hospital. The room was bare, no signs that she'd had any visitors. There was a jug of water on the table beside the bed, but aside from that it was empty; no flowers, no cards, no gifts. That either meant nobody had been interested in visiting her, or she hadn't been here long enough for visiting hours to have started. She hoped that was the case.

"Good morning."

She recognized the voice without having to look, which, given she couldn't even turn her head without feeling like she was going to be sick, was a good thing.

"Hi Wren," she mumbled.

She heard footsteps, and when she opened her eyes he was standing by her bed. He looked concerned, and she was so busy trying to work out if he looked you're-lucky-to-be-alive or you're-going-to-die concerned that she didn't hear him speak. He raised an eyebrow, and she realized she'd missed something.

"Sorry?" she croaked.

Wren reached for the jug and poured her a glass of water. She took it gratefully, taking small sips because it hurt to swallow.

"I asked you how you were feeling," he said.

"Oh." She tried to put the glass back on the table, but misjudged the distance.

Wren caught it as it slid off the table, smiling at her as he uprighted it. "You went through quite an ordeal last night," he said. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I, um." She looked down at her hands, and for the first time she saw the extent of her injuries. There were cuts all up and down her arms, and bruises had blossomed all over her body. The sheets had slipped off her, so she could see the network of cuts stretching up her legs. Her left foot was bandaged, and she realized that her left hand was too. The injuries didn't seem to be that bad, considering. "Someone ran over me."

Wren nodded, unsurprised by the news. "Did you see who it was?"

Aria shook her head. "Hit-and-run," she muttered. "They didn't stop."

She wasn't entirely sure on that point, but it seemed the most useful lie. The 'accident' had in fact been deliberate, and there weren't many people who would deliberately try to run her over. It hadn't been Spencer, but that still left Mona and Toby. And if she got the police involved, if she got them arrested… they wouldn't be the only one paying for their crimes.

"Well, you were lucky," Wren said. "Most of your injuries are superficial, although likely to be painful for a while. No broken bones, although your shoulder was dislocated – we popped it back into place while you were out, so it shouldn't give you too much discomfort."

She started to thank him, but something in his expression stopped her. He didn't look like someone delivering such non-serious news. "What is it?" she whispered, suddenly afraid that she might cry. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve, and to her horror she felt his hand on her shoulder. He was comforting her. Maybe she _was_ dying.

"There was significant internal trauma," he told her reluctantly. "We've done the best we can, but there's still a chance that there's something we missed."

"Wh-what are you saying?"

_Don't cry, Aria. Don't cry._

"I'm saying there's a chance you may suffer some internal bleeding," he said. "Sometimes it's a sort of delayed effect, so we're going to have to keep an eye on you for a while."

"What if that does happen?" she asked.

He hesitated, but was saved having to answer by a tentative knock at the door. He looked out the small hospital-room window and smiled. "Looks like you have visitors."

"But -" she said as he started walking to the door.

Before she could finish her sentence he'd opened the door, and Hanna and Emily were rushing into the room.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Emily asked, hurrying over to her.

Hanna stopped at the door to quickly greet Wren, who smiled at her before turning back to Aria. "I'll come back and check on you when visiting hours end, okay?"

"Thanks, Wren."

As soon as he was gone Hanna shut the door and joined Emily near the bed. They stood in almost reverential silence, until Aria opened her eyes and glared at them. "Guys, quit looking at me like I'm on my deathbed. I'm _fine_."

"You don't look fine," Hanna said, and Emily elbowed her.

"What Hanna means to say," Emily interrupted, "is: are you okay?"

"I'm all right," Aria said. When they kept looking at her disbelievingly she added more firmly, "Really. No major injuries. I'll be okay."

She decided not to mention the possibility of internal bleeding; they were worried enough as it was.

"Do you know who it was?" she asked, as much out of curiosity as a desire to change the subject.

Hanna glanced at Emily.

"What?" Aria narrowed her eyes. "You know who it was, don't you? Who?"

If Aria hadn't been in a hospital bed Hanna probably would have tried to keep this from her, but she knew that Aria would just get stressed if she didn't tell her.

"It was Lucas," she admitted at last.

Aria had not been expecting that. Lucas was working on the A-Team? "What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Hanna sat down on the edge of the bed, nervously tugging at a loose thread in the sheets. "Yesterday after you left, Lucas told me everything. That time you were nearly run over – that was him. This time they asked him to actually run you over."

"And he did it?" Aria asked, incredulous. Lucas had gotten darker lately, sure, but she didn't think he was capable of something like this. Was there anybody she could trust?

"He didn't want to," Hanna said quickly. "The A-Team has been blackmailing him into helping them. Yesterday I… I told him who was behind it all and what had happened; he already knew that Spencer was in charge of it, but he didn't have a clue about what happened at the gala – he didn't know she'd tried to kill you. Well, us. And when he saw you two together, he went off-mission."

"He was trying to run Spencer over," Aria breathed. "He thought if he… if he hit her, he could put an end to the A-Team?"

Hanna nodded. "He feels terrible. He didn't mean to hit you, but he says you pushed Spencer out of the way, and he couldn't stop -"

"It's okay," Aria said. "I don't blame him."

"Hanna," Emily said suddenly.

Emily was looking out the window, but Aria couldn't turn her head far enough to see what she was looking at. Hanna followed her gaze and her expression hardened.

"Aria, we'll be back," Emily announced, heading for the door.

"Wait, what? Hanna -"

"Just rest," Hanna told her. "We'll be back in a minute."

Aria heard the door close, and she knew her friends had left. She finally let out a sob that she'd been holding in, but within a minute her crying had induced a coughing fit. She pulled herself upright, wincing as pain shot through her body, and covered her mouth with her sleeve. When she pulled it away again, there was a smear of blood standing out against the crisp white of the hospital gown.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

After spending a restless night at Toby's, Spencer felt on edge and unspeakably tired. It wasn't the sort of tired that could be fixed by a quick nap or a good night's sleep. It was the kind of tired that made her want to crawl under the covers and hibernate until all of this was over. She was glad that she'd given Mona the responsibility of being Red Coat; if she'd still been in charge she would have called everything off by now.

When Mona realized Spencer wasn't coming to the lair, she'd called Toby. Spencer had listened to the conversation; Toby had assured her that everything was fine, but they were both so tired they were just going to crash here for the night. The truth was that Spencer didn't want to be in the lair, surrounded by plans and pictures and creepy dolls. She wanted to be in her room, surrounded by friends; but of course she didn't have any, so this would have to do.

She was on her third cup of coffee for the day by the time she drove to the hospital. She had a free period, but she had a feeling that even if she hadn't, she would have gone anyway. She didn't like owing anybody anything, and she now owed Aria her life. She needed a way to fix this, to pay Aria back. Then she could disconnect from her again and get on with whatever Mona had planned.

A friendly nurse pointed her in the direction of Aria's room, and, impulsively, she stopped on the way to buy flowers. She agonized over which ones to get. What kind of bouquet would say 'I'm sorry I almost had you killed, and thanks for saving my life'? Eventually she settled on something small and simple, just a few tulips and a couple of roses, and made her way up to Aria's room. She was clutching the bouquet so hard that the stems were all bent, but it was the only way she could stay calm. She shouldn't be here, she knew. Mona and Toby didn't know she was here, and if they did she'd have a lot of explaining to do. And Aria probably wouldn't want to see her anyway.

As she approached the room she heard voices. She came to a stop, glancing in the window. Aria was lying in her bed, looking – well, looking like she'd just been hit by a car. Hanna was perched on the bed, and Emily was standing beside it. Of course they'd be there; Aria would want her friends there.

Spencer turned away, knowing she had no place here. She should go back to the lair and check in with Mona and Toby; now that Aria was in the hospital they'd be working on the final part of the plan. Mona would probably only have a couple more stunts planned, just enough to break the girls, and then she'd be ready to end this – with the plan that Spencer herself had created.

She turned around for one last look, but at that moment Emily turned around. Their eyes met, and Spencer wished she was invisible. Emily said something and then Hanna looked out the window too. They'd seen her. She needed to get out of here.

She started walking off, as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself, ducking down a random corridor just to get away. She hadn't gone far when she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't dare look back, but she could tell who was coming. A second later someone grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around and slamming her against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hanna demanded, pressing her arm up against Spencer's throat.

Spencer's first reaction was to be impressed. She'd never seen Hanna get so physical, so violent, and it surprised her. Then the pressure on her throat increased and she realized how serious this was. "P-please," she spluttered. "I'm not here to hurt her."

"Yeah?" Hanna said, letting go and throwing her arms out. Her face was hard, not a flicker of warmth anywhere. "Then what are you doing here, Spencer?"

Spencer slumped against the wall, rubbing her throat. Emily looked at the bouquet she was holding, and her eyes narrowed.

"What the hell is this?" Emily said, grabbing the bouquet. "Some kind of trap?"

"It's probably got a camera in it or something," Hanna muttered. "Toss it."

Emily threw the bouquet in the trash. "It's not going to work, Spencer. Whatever you're planning -"

"I'm not planning anything," she protested. "Mona doesn't even know I'm here."

That caught them by surprise, but they didn't let it throw them for too long.

"I bet she told you to say that," Hanna said. "Convince us that you're on our side, that she didn't send you."

"The flowers were a nice touch," Emily added, inclining her head slightly towards the bin.

"I didn't come here to hurt her," she said again. "I just… I wanted to thank her."

"Sure," Hanna said with a cynical laugh. "You tried to have her killed and now you just want to _thank_ her. Spencer, you've been back for less than two weeks and you've already put two of us in the hospital. How can we believe _anything_ you say?"

"She's probably just here to finish the job," Emily said, agitated. She grabbed her friend's arm. "Hanna, come on. We should get back to Aria."

"Can you at least tell her that I was here?" Spencer pleaded. "I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"Give it up, Spencer."

The girls all spun around to see who had spoken. Toby was striding down the hall, his clothes covered in dust like he'd just come from a job or crawled through an air vent.

"Toby?" Spencer said incredulously.

He reached them, gave them all a quick visual onceover, and then went and stood beside Hanna and Emily.

"Is Aria okay?" he asked quietly. "I came as soon as I could."

"She's going to be fine," Emily responded.

"Toby," Spencer said again, and he turned his attention to her. Her heart was sinking. "What is this?"

"It's over, Spencer," he said. "You've gone too far."

"Too… far?" she echoed, totally confused. What was Toby playing at? And why was he acting like he was on their side? "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm out. I don't want anything more to do with this."

Her gaze flickered between him and the girls. "You're on their side now?" she asked, hurt; she knew she had no right to be, given she'd been here to visit Aria, but she still felt betrayed. Her heart sank so much it fell right through the floor. This couldn't be happening.

Toby nodded. "This needs to stop, Spencer."

She stood there wordlessly for a few moments, trying to understand what had happened. Toby had betrayed her. Emily and Hanna wouldn't let her near Aria. She was totally alone. And then, to make matters even worse, she had the horrible feeling she was about to cry. She clenched her fist, shot a glare at Toby, and marched off down the hall.

"And stay away from Aria!" Hanna shouted after her.

She hit the streets running. She had nowhere else to go and no one to turn to. The tears fell down her face, blinding her, and she realized there was only one path left to take. She was too far gone to fix things. She needed to see it through to the end.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Runawaybaby555 - I'm glad you liked it! It was definitely a dramatic Sparia save, and it was actually really fun to write. And you should've gone with your first instinct, since it was Hanna. But it could just as well have been Em, being all Gryffindor-ish. :p I don't believe you did say that, but that is correct. Spencer was spying on Wilden and Ashley, who were discussing what to do about the photos of the girls from That Night. I hope you liked this chapter too. :)**  
**kallie - thanks for the review! It wasn't Aria, but it easily could have been. I hope you liked this chapter too.  
Sgdp1261 - oh my gosh, thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked it. Spencer is still conflicted, but let me say, Aria's sacrifice has a huge effect on her. As you can see from this chapter, Hanna and Emily aren't forgiving at all - should they be? Do you think Spence is going to go against the A-Team? Also, 'sweet little nerd brain' - brilliant. XD Lucas does feel bad about it; he started out just a puppet, but he really took control there. Good on him. Thanks again for the awesome long review, and I'll see you next chapter. ;)  
Forever Courage - there's always hope for Sparia. Even when they're full-on enemies, they still care for each other. Spencer IS softening up a bit, and we'll see how that turns out soon.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks. :)  
insertnameherex - that's totally fine, and thanks for catching up! I think I actually sort of ship Matt/Aria, which is weird because I'm not really fond of OCs, but hey, he's cute. This is going to be about twenty one chapters, and no, I have no plans for a sequel to this. Mayyybe I'll explore this AU again someday, but at present I'm not intending on it; sorry. Originally I'd intended for A is for Arlene to be a standalone story actually, but I got such a strong response to it that I realized I had to write more - and the story wasn't over. But I think this is where the story ends for me. I am the master of manipulating Sparia hearts. ;) I can build up your feels and break them down again in the space of a thousand words. And you were right with Hanna! Unfortunately I don't think two chapters at a time is realistic this far in... but PM me and we can work out a reward for you. ;) I've actually quite liked the past few episodes - all the girls have been so snarky - but I'm still glad my fic is entertaining. :)**

**Okay. One final thing: next chapter is a major turning point. I don't want to give too much away, but... well, prepare yourselves. And watch your Sparia hearts. See you there. ;)**


	16. So far away from safe and sound

**Forever Courage - well, not quite. But I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway. I really enjoyed writing that chapter; Hanna and Emily are naturally suspicious and so lovably protective... but poor Spence, right?  
kallie - great to see you're becoming a regular! I felt bad for Spencer too. She was trying to do the right thing and... well, you saw what happened. But maybe there's still hope for her.  
Runawaybaby555 - you really hit the nail on the head there. Spencer feels betrayed and abandoned (let's ignore all the horrible things she's done for a second) and that's pushing her back into something she'd been trying to break away from. But something happens this chapter that changes her perspective - although, I warn you again, be prepared. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I really hope you like this one too.  
insertnameherex - okay, I've figured out a reward. I'm going to be posting a chapter of Iridescence, my Spoby story, soon, and I was going to take a day off updating Salvation to do that - but because you guessed correctly I'll just publish them both on the same day so you don't have to wait to long. How's that ? ;) Truth be told I'm really going to miss this story too - nothing compares to the experience of writing a story like this and having so many people become regular readers/reviewers, getting so involved in the plot and invested in the characters... I don't know what I'll do once I finish this story! And you're right, Mona is definitely working on her own plan - you'll find out what she's up to in a couple chapters. I hope you enjoy this one, and thanks for the review.  
Sgdp1261 - no, that's totally okay, I hope people DO feel bad for Spence. She's done some awful things but her intentions last chapter were genuine. Emily and Hanna were naturally suspicious, though, and you can't blame them - even if they did ditch her flowers, which may have been uncalled for. ;) I really love Wren too, which is why I had to include him. It bums me out that there's been no Wren/Spencer interaction, but hey, can't have everything.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks for all your reviews. :)**

**Quick note before we start: I won't be updating tomorrow, partly because you may need some time to deal with this chapter, partly because I want to post the first chapter of another story I've been working on (it's a short, tragic Spemily story, so keep an eye out for it if that's something you'd be interested in).**

**Okay. All I have to say about this chapter is: please don't hate me. It had to happen this way. Be warned.**

**And please review! I'm so close to 100, and I would love to reach that this chapter. So get going. ;)**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

_She shouldn't be letting this affect her so much. So Ali had given the other three fake IDs. So she hadn't given one to Spencer. Did she really care about that? Ali must have known that she couldn't trust Spencer; maybe she'd even figured out that she was –A. And Spencer had no right to be upset that Ali didn't trust her; after everything she'd done, Ali would have been wise to keep her at arm's length. The girls should be doing that too, if they knew what was good for them, but of course they were still under the mistaken impression that Spencer was on their side. She'd played her part well._

_She lay on her bed, twirling a piece of ribbon between her fingers. She'd known about Aria's fake ID, but how had she missed the fact that both Hanna and Emily had them too? Had she been focusing too much of her attention on Aria and not enough on the other girls? She sighed. Maybe her focus was being split. Maybe she could have each of the team members – herself, Mona, and Toby – choose a particular target. Then they could keep an eye on all three girls._

_But that wouldn't work. She was the only one who was really close to them. They'd long since stopped trusting Mona, and Toby was away so much that even Emily had trouble keeping in touch with him. So most of the responsibility fell to Spencer. It was taking its toll. She was always highly aware of what she said, and of what she couldn't say. She was trying so hard to make sure her friends didn't find out about her that there was hardly any time to have some real fun. But she did have fun with her friends sometimes, didn't she?_

_There were moments when she would forget, just for a second, that she was out to get them. Someone would say something funny and she'd laugh, feeling just like she was just one of them. They'd invite her to go to a movie or hang out at someone's house, and she'd accept without pondering the implications for the A-Team. Those were the moments she lost herself. Or were they the moments in which she finally found herself?_

_No. She pulled the ribbon taut, reminding herself that she was in control. She was doing what she needed to do. She was going to make sure nobody found out what she'd done. She needed to cover her tracks, no matter who she had to hurt in the process._

_She looped the ribbon around her finger, tying it into a noose. She smiled. She could do this. She had to._

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"This okay?"

Aria looked over to where Ezra was arranging the flowers on the bedside table. There was quite an array, ranging from ones he'd bought himself to those sent by her friends. One lot was even from Mike, who'd visited her the day before and almost yelled at her for scaring him so much.

"They look great," she said. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she couldn't care less about the flowers, but she did appreciate the effort.

Ezra set one last bouquet in a vase, then came over and sat on the edge of her bed. He knew she was still in too much pain to be touched, so he just rested his hand beside hers. "How are you feeling?"

She tried to shrug, but the action made her wince. "I'm okay, I guess."

He gave her a sympathetic look. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You just being here helps," she said.

"Well, I can be here for as long as you need me," he assured her. "Have you heard from your parents?"

"Yeah. Dad's at some conference that he really can't get out of, but Mom should be back tonight. She'll be able to take me home if -"

"If?" he interrupted sharply. "Are you about to say 'if' you're released?"

"When," she amended, but it wasn't quick enough.

"Aria, is there something you're not telling me?"

She bit back tears. She'd been telling everyone she was fine, but she knew she wasn't. What she didn't know was how long she could keep up this charade. Ezra was looking at her with such love and concern on his face that if she hadn't been in so much pain she would have kissed him just to make him smile.

"Aria. Was this –A?"

She felt her blood run cold. She couldn't get Ezra involved in any of this again; as far as he knew, -A was long gone. And he definitely didn't know that the A-Team included one of her best friends. "N-no," she said weakly.

He tilted his head, and then suddenly he stood up and threw his hands in the air. "It was, wasn't it?"

"Ezra, no -"

"Aria, stop lying to me," he said plaintively. "The only times I've seen you this scared are when –A was after you. But wasn't that Mona? Wasn't she behind it? And isn't she locked up in Radley now?"

"Yes, it was Mona. And she's out of the picture. So just drop it, okay?"

He didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't push the point. Aria breathed a sigh of relief, and then she realized she was crying. Ezra was at her side in an instant, wiping away the tears with a spare handkerchief. She closed her eyes as he gently started stroking her back. It hurt, but she didn't want him to stop.

They stayed that way for what felt like forever. Aria was almost falling asleep, but she stirred as she heard movement at the door. She opened her eyes and saw Hanna and Emily standing in the doorway.

"Oh," Emily said, "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to -"

"It's okay," Ezra said, waving them over. "Come on in."

The girls approached the bed cautiously. Ezra stood up, disentangling himself from Aria. "I'm going to go and get some coffee," he said. "Anyone else want anything?"

"No thanks," Aria said, and the other girls shook their heads.

"I'll see you soon," Ezra said, bending down to plant a gentle kiss on Aria's forehead.

He went to move away, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back, holding his gaze for a long moment. "I love you, Ezra," she said.

"I love you too," he murmured, and then he slipped out the door.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, politely leaving out the fact that Aria probably looked terrible right now.

"Yeah." She couldn't meet their eyes when she said it. She definitely didn't feel okay; everywhere hurt, and even the pain medication Wren had prescribed to her wasn't doing much to help. She tried not to think about his expression when he'd looked at her – it seemed like more of a you're-going-to-die-and-I-don't-want-to-have-to-te ll-you look.

"Are you sure?" Hanna pressed. "Because -"

"Hanna, it's fine," she insisted. "I just -"

She stopped talking as she felt something warm on her stomach. Pulling up the sheets, she saw that blood had begun to seep through the bandages wrapped around her middle. She quickly covered it back up, hoping the girls hadn't noticed the way her face went pale. Once they were gone she'd call a doctor to have a look at it, but she didn't want to worry her friends. She needed to change the subject, so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Have you heard from –A again?" she asked. "Any messages to rub it in?"

If Aria hadn't known them so well, she wouldn't have noticed the way that Hanna looked away and then back again, or the way Emily's shoulders tensed up. And if she hadn't been on hyper-alert she wouldn't have been able to put two and two together.

"You have, haven't you?" she accused. "What did they say?"

"She didn't have a chance to say much before we chased her off," Hanna said, her eyes scanning the arrangement of flowers on the bedside table.

"Who?" Aria looked from Hanna to Emily, her heart suddenly racing. "Was one of them _here_?"

"It was Spencer," Emily admitted reluctantly. "She showed up here yesterday."

"What did she want?" Aria held a hand to her chest, trying to slow her heart. It thumped against her chest like it was trying to escape. She felt sick.

"She said she was bringing you flowers." Hanna rolled her eyes. "But – Aria?"

Aria let out a low moan, wrapping her arms around herself and trying not to be sick. It felt like her body was collapsing in on itself. Pain clawed at her stomach and her head started throbbing. She could no longer convince her friends she was okay.

"G-get a doctor," she moaned.

Hanna whipped the door open and sprinted outside, calling for help, while Emily came over to Aria, took her hand in hers, and squeezed.

"You're going to be okay," she promised, but Aria just shook her head. Nothing about this felt okay.

She closed her eyes, willing the pain to go away, but it just intensified. The door flew open and she heard footsteps, but it wasn't until she felt someone gently resting a hand on her shoulder that she opened her eyes again. Hanna and Emily were standing by the bed, and Wren was a few paces away. He was holding a clipboard and was halfway through writing something on it, but when he saw Aria his face went pale and the clipboard clattered to the ground.

"Aria, what's wrong?" he cried, rushing to her. "Talk to me, tell me what's -"

Those were the last words she heard, and the last thing she saw was her friends' concerned faces swimming above her head. Then she fell into blackness as her consciousness slipped away.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Everything's going according to plan," Spencer said, watching Mona's reaction. She didn't smile, didn't look pleased. If anything she looked smug, like she'd known the plan was going to work and there was no use worrying about it.

"Excellent," Mona replied. "Masterful performance, by the way. Luring Aria out there, keeping her long enough for Lucas to hit her."

Spencer paused in the middle of spreading jelly on a piece of toast. She rested the knife on the edge of the plate, took a deep breath, and said, "Don't mention it."

She was still frustrated that she hadn't been able to see Aria, but part of her was also relieved. What could she have said to her? 'Sorry for having you run over'? Aria had every right to hate her, and she probably did. And if she was honest with herself – which she usually tried to avoid – she hated herself a little bit too.

"So nothing… unusual happened, right?" Mona asked.

Spencer took a bite of the toast, chewing thoughtfully. She needed to consider her answer carefully, because she had the horrible feeling that Mona was onto her. Did she know that Lucas had tried to run Spencer over instead? Had she _been_ there?

"No," Spencer said cautiously, swallowing. "No, nothing unusual. I got out of the way, Aria took the hit, the girls took her to the hospital."

"Good." Mona stood up and came over to her, and Spencer sucked in her breath, suddenly afraid that she would give herself away. She didn't want Mona to know what had really happened. "I'm glad I can still count on _you_."

Spencer flinched at the reminder that Toby had betrayed them. Mona continued brewing tea, oblivious to Spencer's anguish. After she'd come back from the hospital yesterday, having been chased away by those she would once call her friends, she'd returned to the lair and explained that Toby had turned against them. Mona had been surprisingly sympathetic, revealing that she'd had suspicions about Toby for a while and assuring her that they'd find a way to get back at him. Spencer didn't exactly want revenge – she'd prefer just to pretend he didn't exist – but she did appreciate the sentiment.

"Yeah," Spencer agreed. "It's important to know who you can count on."

Mona poured herself a cup of tea and offered one to Spencer, who shook her head. Shrugging, Mona took her tea and settled down on the couch, leafing through a magazine.

"There are a few things I need to take care of," Spencer said, and Mona glanced up. "I'll come back once I've finished and we can keep planning."

"Of course," Mona said. "Good luck with it all. I'll see you later."

It wasn't until Spencer was in the car and on the way to the hospital that she began to rethink her idea. For one thing, she was supposed to be in school right now. She had actually, for the first time in her life, forgotten to go to school. She'd intended to go back after she went to see Aria, but that had been such a disaster that she'd gone straight back to the lair. Half an hour later it had occurred to her that her study period would be over, but she couldn't bring herself to go back. The risk of seeing Hanna and Emily was too great.

For another thing, she still couldn't be sure that Aria would want to see her. But she didn't like being in debt to her, and she needed to find a way to pay her back. At the very least she needed to thank her, but there was every chance that Aria would refuse to see her. And if Hanna and Emily were still at the hospital instead of at school, they'd just force her away again anyway.

By the time she'd reached the hospital and was pulling into the parking lot, she still hadn't made her decision. Mona wouldn't like the fact that she was going to visit Aria, but at the moment she didn't really care what Mona thought. She stepped out of the car and walked up to the hospital, then straight to Aria's room. She didn't bother buying flowers this time.

At first she thought she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere. The room was empty, the bed was made, and there was no sign of Aria. But the room number was right; she had a head for numbers, and she rarely forgot them or mixed them up. She peered through the window and saw that the bedside table was still covered with vases of flowers and cards from well-wishers. This had definitely been Aria's room.

Figuring that she'd just gone to the bathroom or for a walk, Spencer sat down and waited. She waited for half an hour, her agitation building. She waited another hour, her agitation manifesting itself as nervous habits like tapping her feet on the floor and her fingers against her palm. She waited another hour and a half, and then she couldn't stand it any longer.

It was unlikely, but possible that she'd been released. Spencer looked around for a nurse or receptionist, to ask if Aria had been released, but she couldn't see anyone. Unwilling to waste any more time she hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder and made her way to Aria's house. It was empty too. She even knocked on the front door, but nobody answered. Feeling her heart sink with every passing moment, she headed back to the car. If anyone knew what had happened to Aria, it would be Hanna or Emily – who were also the people least likely to talk to her.

An idea hit her. She snapped on her seatbelt and started driving, her eyes scanning the side of the road. Finally she saw what she was looking for, and parked on the side of the street. It was one of the few payphone boxes left in Rosewood, but it was exactly what she needed. She slid some quarters into the machine and dialled Emily's number.

"Hello?"

"Emily. It's Spencer." She heard a sharp intake of breath, and she quickly went on before the other girl could disconnect. "Please don't hang up. I just need to talk."

"What do you want, Spencer?" Emily's voice sounded faint and like she was slightly out of breath. Spencer wondered if she'd just been running.

"I just… I went to the hospital. Aria's not there anymore."

"Of course she's not," Emily said, sounding not annoyed but – sad?

"Can you – can you tell me where she is? I promise I don't want to hurt her. I just need to thank her, for what she did -"

"Well, it's too late for that."

"Wh-what? Emily, what happened to Aria?"

Spencer was beginning to feel frantic. She understood that Emily didn't trust her, but it didn't sound like she was just trying to keep her away from Aria. It sounded like she didn't want to tell her something, something big.

"Don't you know?" Emily asked, her voice sharp. Then there was a faint sniffling sound, and Spencer finally realized why Emily sounded so strange. She was _crying_.

"No, I don't know," Spencer said. Something was really wrong; she didn't know why it made her feel so desperate, but she needed to know what was happening. "Please, Emily. Just tell me what happened to Aria."

There was a terrifying silence. Then, in a voice that sounded incredibly small, Emily said three words that made Spencer's heart stop.

"Spencer, Aria's dead."

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	17. Unable are the loved to die

**Hey everyone! I have to admit, I was blown away by the reaction to the last chapter; it's great to know that my writing can have that kind of effect on people (although I'm sorry for, you know, shattering your hearts and all that). I'll start replying to all of your individual reviews next chapter, because this chapter's pretty big and I just want to get right into it. Before that, though, I want to ask: what do you guys think about the flashbacks? Not many of you have commented on them, and to be honest they were the part of this story that was hardest to write, so I'd love to know what you think. Now, onto the chapter. Enjoy!**

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_The strange thing was, Spencer did actually feel guilty. There were moments, as she lay awake late at night and stared at shadows on the ceiling, that she wished things had turned out differently. If Alison had backed off they would never have had that fight. She would never have killed her, and she would never have had to go to such great lengths to cover her tracks. Maybe she could have been a normal teenage girl, nothing more to worry about than what movie to watch with her friends or which topic to choose for her next essay._

_Instead here she was, sliding on her black hoodie as she prepared to head out into the night and set a trap for her friends. She looked at herself in the mirror, wondering what other people saw when they looked at her. Did they see the Spencer she used to be, high-strung but well-meaning, willing to take a bullet for any of her friends in a heartbeat? Did they see the Spencer she wished she was, smart and successful, in control of every situation and knowing she had the world at her feet? Did they see her the way her parents did, as someone always just falling short of expectations, with so much unfulfilled potential?_

_She wasn't sure how she saw herself anymore. She was capable of murder. She could be cold, calculating, detached. But she could also be bright, passionate, loving. Most of the time she knew the person she had to be – in order to stay in charge of the A-Team she needed to shut off all of those warmer feelings, looking at everything objectively and never losing her cool. She never let those feelings slip through, but that didn't mean she didn't feel them._

_But she couldn't feel them, if she wanted to do this right. She pulled her hood over her head, turned away from the mirror, and pushed all those feelings away – the guilt, the apprehension, the uncertainty. She was Spencer Hastings, and she was in control._

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In some strange kind of symbolism, the weather on Saturday matched Spencer's mood perfectly. She was sitting on the back of the couch, resting her feet on a spare chair, and watching rain drip down the window. It had been raining fitfully all day, in short bursts followed by periods of tentative sunshine. Spencer, meanwhile, had been feeling jolts of sadness interspersed by seemingly endless periods of numbness.

She shouldn't be feeling this way. She'd always known that it could end up like this. Mona was determined, and she had a serious grudge against the girls. It wasn't surprising that she would go far enough to kill one of them – even if it hadn't been her behind the wheel. Although Spencer had killed Alison herself, this felt different. Harsher, somehow. She'd only killed Ali to get her out of the way, but there hadn't been any logical reason for Aria to die. And it was Spencer's fault. If she'd never involved Mona, if she'd never started the A-Team, Aria would still be alive.

As much as she hated to admit it, Spencer could no longer deny the fact that she had actually liked Aria. Maybe she'd even been her friend. At one point she'd been so convinced she was better than everyone else, so sure she was doing what was necessary, that she hadn't even stopped to consider what these girls meant to her. She'd distanced herself from them, making a very clear distinction in her mind between 'us' and 'them'. But somewhere along the way, the lines had blurred. She found herself missing Emily's gentle encouragement, Hanna's fierce loyalty, Aria's joyous laughter.

The anger she had felt for them, the reason she had caused them so much pain and stood idly by while Mona and Toby tormented them, was dissipating. But as she remembered Aria again, the anger swirled up, becoming a heavy cloud in her heart, and she knew who she was really angry at.

If she hadn't been in such a melancholic mood she would have found this sudden realization amusing. She would have laughed at her epiphany, overanalyzed the implications, maybe even written it down so she could use it for a college essay someday. But she was too upset to be her usual critical self, and so she just sat there, rain sliding down the window, and let herself feel it.

She was angry at herself. That's what this came down to. She had never really been angry at the girls. After she'd killed Alison, she'd split herself off from the group; the weight of keeping the secret had made her colder, more distant, and she couldn't connect to them. She'd wished she could be as carefree as them, as untroubled and able to let go of the little things. But she had so stay in control or her whole operation would come crashing down.

She'd been envious of them, of the way they could actually let themselves love each other. But she'd ensured that she could never have that. Even now, even if Aria wasn't dead, she knew she could never have that.

Maybe Toby was right. Maybe they had gone too far.

Even as she thought it, the front door swung open and Toby walked in, tracking muddy footprints all over the floor. Mona looked up from where she sat immersed in some crime novel at the table.

"Toby, take off your shoes, you're getting mud all over the floor," she said nonchalantly, and before he'd even had a chance to move she added calmly, "And while you're at it, tell us what the hell you're doing here."

He slid his shoes off and dumped them by the door; mud splashed up the wall, but nobody paid it any mind.

"Before you throw me to the wolves," he said, coming up to the table, "hear me out."

Mona looked at Spencer, who shrugged - she was beyond being able to form any kind of opinion – and then she turned back to Toby with a slight nod. He didn't waste any time in pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, as if he was worried she'd change her mind. Spencer rotated so that her feet were now resting on the couch and she was facing the others, but she made no move to go nearer to Toby.

"The prodigal son returns," Mona said, marking the page in her book with the wrapper from a piece of gum. "What have you to say for yourself?"

Toby took a deep breath. "I'm sure Spencer's told you about what happened at the hospital," he said, waiting for Mona's confirmatory nod before he went on. "It wasn't what it looked like. I had to make the girls believe I was on their side. And Spencer, you were great. Thanks to you they're now sure I'm on their side. They think I've turned against you guys and want to help them."

"Wait." Spencer held up a hand, gesturing for him to stop. "You're telling me that was all an act?"

"Of course," he said, taken aback. "You didn't really believe it, did you?"

She averted her gaze, not sure what to say. Yesterday she would have been thrilled to hear that Toby was still on her side, but today she wasn't even sure whose side _she_ was on.

"Spencer, I would never betray you," he said passionately, coming over and sitting beside her. He rested a hand on her knee, and she forced herself not to jerk it away. "I'm on your side, I swear."

"Yeah, well." She nodded her head towards Mona. "It's not me you should be talking to. I think it's our fearless leader you need to beg forgiveness from."

He looked crestfallen as he went back to his seat at the table across from Mona. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I had to make it realistic. If you're unhappy about it -"

Mona held up one finger to signal silence. "No," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not unhappy. In fact, I applaud your initiative. Welcome back to the fold, Toby. What have you found out?"

He seemed startled at the sudden acceptance, but he didn't push it. They both knew Mona would have her reasons. "I went to Emily's house this morning. She and the girls are planning a memorial for Aria tomorrow, at Aria's house. Just for her close friends and family. The funeral isn't until Wednesday."

"They invited you to her memorial?" Spencer asked, wanting to make sure she understood correctly. Toby had played them, was still playing them, and yet he got to say goodbye to Aria? That was hardly fair. But then, it wouldn't be fair for her to go either. She'd played them too.

"Yeah. I was thinking we could set something up to mess with them," Toby said. "They'll have their guard down, so it should be easy to take them by surprise."

"We could." Mona ran a finger around the rim of her teacup, staring into it with such an intense expression that Spencer wouldn't have been surprised if she'd suddenly spouting off facts about string theory or quantum mechanics. "But there's no sense concerning ourselves with it just yet. We can make a decision in the morning. You two take the night off."

The meeting apparently adjourned, Spencer went back to her house. Normally she'd stay at the lair for a while, but she didn't think she could stand to be around them tonight. They were practically celebrating Aria's death, and she was definitely not in the partying mood. She sat on her bed, the lights dimmed and the rain now lashing on the window, and found herself looking through old photo albums.

She'd been upset before, but by the time she finished the fourth album she was thoroughly depressed. One of the albums had been of the five of them: her, Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Alison. Two out of the five were dead, and she was responsible for both. The other two hated her, and she couldn't blame them. She'd always been high-strung, somewhat controlling, always needing to be the leader, but now she was a murderer, on the edges of a team she built from scratch, the cause of so much suffering.

She'd had a chance to have everything, and now she was left with nothing. It was exactly what she deserved.

She wasn't aware of falling asleep, but she woke up as the sun was rising, lying on top of a pile of photo albums. She peeled one off her face, letting it flop onto the bed, and tried not to think about what today was. Aria's memorial. Her memorial, because she was dead. Because Spencer had killed her. She wasn't behind the wheel, but she may as well have been. Aria was dead because of her.

She dressed slowly, wanting to spend as much time alone as possible. Toby was picking her up at midday, so she spent her morning doing homework. It was a nice distraction for a while, but eventually her thoughts ran away with her. She lay back on her bed and let the thoughts swirl around. She didn't know what she was hoping to achieve, but she knew what she had to do today. She was going to Aria's memorial.

When Toby turned up she headed for the door, grabbing her coat on the way. Toby was quiet on the drive over, sensing that she wasn't in the mood to talk. As they pulled up outside the lair he turned to look at her.

"Look, I know you were friends -" he started.

"I wasn't her friend." Spencer knew it was true. She could have been her friend, but she'd thrown that away the second she'd killed Alison. She'd chosen herself over her 'friends', and at the time it had felt right. Now it just made her feel sick. "Let's just go inside."

Mona was wearing the red coat. She hadn't worn it often, preferring the black hoodie she was used to, and the sight of her in red made Spencer stop.

"Big plans, Red Coat?" she asked, hanging her own coat up on the hook by the door.

Mona turned, did up the last few buttons, and smiled. "On the contrary. I've decided that we're not going to do anything at the memorial. We'll wait until the funeral."

"Oh." Spencer set her purse down on the counter, her back to Mona, and bit her lip. If she didn't want to do anything at the memorial, it was probably because she had something awful planned for the funeral. Once Spencer would have leapt at the chance to help, but something was holding her back now. Aria was dead. She had literally given her life for Spencer, even though she knew what she'd done. She owed Aria her life, and she could never repay that. But maybe she could start to make it up to the girls. "So do you need me around here today? To help with planning or anything?"

Mona gave her a searching look, and then shook her head. "No, that's fine. I can manage. You and Toby take the weekend off. Go do something fun."

"I know something we can do," Toby said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her neck, and it took everything she had to push him away.

"I've actually got some things I need to do today," she said. "My Mom needs help with some stuff around the house."

"Well isn't that convenient," Mona said.

Before Spencer could ask what she meant, Mona had flicked her hair back, picked up her purse, and was striding towards the door. "You guys do what you want. I'll be back later. Ciao."

She was gone before the other two could react. They shared a look, and then Spencer grabbed her purse and pulled her coat back on. "I should get going then," she said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. She was still annoyed that he'd gone behind their backs, but she didn't want to get into it now. "I'll see you later, okay?"

She left quickly, not looking back. Today she wasn't going to be a member of the A-Team. She wasn't going to be Ali's killer, the girl who'd been tormenting Emily and Hanna, the person behind Aria's death. She was just there to say goodbye to Aria. That was all.

Aria's house seemed empty, but she could see a few cars on the street. Emily's and Hanna's were among them, but most were unfamiliar. She sat in the car for twenty minutes, trying to work up the nerve to go up to the house. They probably wouldn't even let her in the front door, and who could blame them? They couldn't understand what she was feeling, what she was going through, because they didn't have to live with what she'd done.

She glanced down at what she was wearing, suddenly afraid it was too bright. She should be wearing all black, a sign of respect. Instead her shirt was white with splashes of purple, her stockings were cream-colored, and she even had a purple ribbon in her hair. She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and stuffed it in her pocket, but then she realized that what she was wearing was fine. She hadn't been Aria's friend, but she had known her. Aria wouldn't have wanted them to wear dark colors, eyes downcast as they lamented the loss of her. She would want them to wear bright colors, eyes sparkling as they celebrated the life she'd lived.

The thought of Aria's bright smile and her selfless sacrifice gave her courage. She stepped out of the car and hurried up to the door. She hesitated on the doorstep, knowing she wouldn't get a warm welcome. But she needed to do this. She knocked three times and then took a step back.

The door opened quickly. Emily stood there, wearing a modest black dress and low heels, her hair pinned back with little black bows. She saw Spencer and stopped short, her eyes widening.

"Hanna!" she called, and a moment later the blonde-haired girl showed up, wearing a slightly less modest dress, her hair bouncing in curls around her shoulders.

"Spencer!" Hanna exclaimed, but, strangely, she seemed surprised rather than angry.

"I told you," Emily muttered out of the corner of her mouth, and Hanna rolled her eyes. Then Emily turned back to Spencer. "I'm glad you came. Come in."

Something was definitely going on here, but Spencer wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. She walked inside, expecting to see a house in mourning: pictures respectfully covered, flowers on the tables, maybe a couple of grieving family members. Instead there was one thing that caught her eye. Standing in front of her, very much alive, was the last person she had expected to see.

Aria.

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**All right, breathe your sighs of relief, then hit me with your theories. See you all next chapter!**


	18. Boundaries of pain

**You complain when I 'kill' Aria, you complain when she comes back... I just can't win with you guys, can I? :p**

**Forever Courage - I loved your optimism. This chapter you'll find out what happened - and you were definitely on the right track.  
meztvfanatic - thanks for the review! And no, of course she's not dead... like I'd pass up the opportunity for more Sparia. ;)  
Runawaybaby555 - I warned you. But thank you for your reviews, they were brilliant as always. Aria's 'death' definitely got to Spencer, and as this chapter shows, she wants to make it up to the girls - but of course it's not going to be that simple.  
kallie - oh, thank you so much! Compliments like that make me so happy.  
Bagilia - thanks for the reviews! I feel obligated to warn you that there will be more cliffhangers in this story, of course, so prepare yourself. But don't worry too much, I'll be updating every day from here on in. Please don't hate me. D:  
Sgdp1261 - I'm glad I still manage to surprise/shock you; there are a few more shocking (or so I hope) moments left in the story, so stay tuned. Of course Spencer feels guilty - and now she's questioning her loyalties. But where will that leave her? And yes, Toby's shady, but so's everyone else. You'll see some more change in Spencer during the rest of this story, and she will eventually have to make a choice - her 'friends' or the A-Team.  
ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - I'm sorry for breaking your Sparia heart, but thank you so much for your reviews! I cannot stop smiling when I read what you've said because you're just so sweet. There'll be plenty more Sparia moments in this story, as well as more surprises, so I hope you enjoy it.  
insertnameherex - oh my gosh, I can't even explain how much your reviews mean to me. I love love love long reviews and yours are the longest and nicest and I can't even form the words to thank you properly. Sooo, I hope my writing and frequent updating is thanks enough. ;) And also, no, you don't sound creepy; I'm actually quite flattered.  
CMR - actually, I adore Aria. I'm not above killing any character, if it's for the sake of the story. But in this case, I'm more than happy to bring Aria back. :p  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks. :)  
Aerize - I'm sorry! I know it feels like I'm jerking your emotions around, but, well... that's what writing's for. If I can't evoke strong emotions, I'm doing something wrong. So please don't hate me. :p  
Guest - of course I had to make you cry! Aria's return wouldn't have been anywhere as dramatic if her 'death' hadn't been so tragic. As I've said before, there'll be frequent updates, so you won't be in suspense too long.**

**Okay. As always, thanks for all the reviews, you guys are lovely and I couldn't do it without you. I'm getting sad now we're towards the end of the story, but I'll skip all the mushy stuff and just say I hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh, and, even though Aria's alive, that doesn't mean that nobody's going to die for real. Then again I could just be teasing you. Maybe it'll be a happy ending. Who knows.**

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_When Aria woke up, Emily and Hanna were sitting in the corner of the room and Wren was standing by the end of the bed. He saw her eyes open and smiled._

_"Welcome back," he said gently._

_She sat up slowly, one hand to her head to try and stop the pounding. "What happened?"_

_"You, uh, you had a bad reaction to something we gave you," he admitted gently, coming to stand beside her. "How are you feeling now?"_

_"I feel…" She stopped to consider. Her stomach was bandaged again, and she wasn't in so much pain. But she still felt sick and her headache wasn't letting up. "I've been better."_

_He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, you should be okay now. There are no signs of internal bleeding, and now that we've changed what we're giving you, you should start feeling better."_

_"Thanks," she mumbled. She looked over at her friends, sheepish. "I'm sorry for scaring you."_

_"I'll be sure to accept that apology as soon as my heart starts beating again," Hanna said, but her tone was teasing._

_"You're sure you're okay?" Emily asked._

_"I'm fine." Aria shot a look at Wren, an idea growing in her mind. It was crazy, it was complicated, but it just might work. "Wren, how long do you think it will be until I'm released?"_

_He checked her chart. "At this rate, not for a few days. We'll want to keep you for observation for a while, just to make sure everything's healing well."_

_"Aria," Emily said warningly, catching sight of the way her eyes were shining, "what are you thinking?"_

_She ignored the question and addressed Wren again. "Is there any chance I could get out sooner?"_

_"How soon are we talking?"_

_"Today."_

_The friendly smile slid from his face. "Aria, you were in a hit-and-run. The recovery time for something like this -"_

_"Wren. Can you get me released today or not?"_

_He looked at Emily and Hanna, hoping they'd be able to shed some light on Aria's sudden insistence, but they were as lost as he was. "I suppose I could have you released. It wouldn't be recommended, but as long as you had someone to take care of you -"_

_"My mom will be home tonight," Aria said quickly. "She'll be able to take care of me."_

_Wren hesitated, but Aria's pleading look broke him down. He shook his head, still reluctant, but said, "I can go and start looking at the paperwork."_

_Once he was gone, the girls turned to her, suspicious._

_"What was that?" Emily demanded. "Why are you so eager to leave?"_

_"I have a plan," Aria said. She needed her friends on her side; she couldn't do this without them. But she didn't know how to explain her plan without them freaking out._

_"Are we going to like this plan, or is it going to be crazy?" Hanna asked._

_Aria looked down at her hands. Then she looked back up at her friends. "Depends how crazy you think it is to fake my own death."_

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Despite the fact that Aria had done her best to talk Hanna and Emily into believing that Spencer would show, she realized now that she hadn't quite believed it herself. But here she was, standing right in front of her, a look of incredulous shock on her face. Aria hadn't thought this far ahead. She'd known that if Spencer showed, it meant that she did care. That was good news… wasn't it?

Aria took a nervous step forward. "Hi Spence," she said.

"You're dead," Spencer blurted out, and then looked embarrassed.

"And I thought she was meant to be the smart one," Hanna whispered to Emily, earning her a glare.

"I just… I mean… you're supposed to be dead," Spencer amended. Then she realized what she'd said and backpedalled quickly. "I didn't mean it like that! I don't want you dead. And I'm not here to finish the job. I just -"

"Spence, slow down," Aria said gently. She wasn't sure how to act in this situation, but somewhere deep down she knew that she trusted Spencer. The old Spencer, the one she knew and loved, was there, somewhere, and she needed to connect to her. "Come on, come sit down."

Aria led the way down the hall, her shoes scuffing on the floor. It still hurt to walk, and she was beginning to wish she'd stayed at the hospital. She had a pair of crutches, but she was trying not to use them; Hanna and Emily already treated her like an invalid, and she didn't need to encourage them. She had some strong painkillers and a list of instructions and precautions from Wren. Before he'd been comfortable letting her go he'd made her promise not to do anything too strenuous, like he thought her weekend was going to consist of a few hard sets of tennis followed by rock climbing and abseiling.

Now, though, she understood his concern. Putting weight on her foot hurt so much she had to keep from crying out in pain every time it hit the floor, and breathing too deeply made her chest ache. But she wasn't critical, and she wasn't likely to die anytime soon – despite what she'd had Spencer believe.

The four girls went to the living room and arranged themselves in their customary positions: Hanna and Emily on the couch facing the TV, Aria on the one near the window. Spencer stood uncertainly, and then settled for leaning against the television.

"I'm glad you're okay," Spencer said quietly.

Aria looked at her, wondering how to begin. The last time all four of them had been in a room together, Spencer had threatened to kill her. But there was something different about her now. It wasn't quite soft, but it was uncertain, which was a start. And she was alone, which was another positive.

"I'm sorry I had to go to such an extreme to get you here," she said. "We just… we needed to know for sure."

"Know what?"

"Whose side you're on," Hanna cut in, her voice harsh. Of all of them she was the least willing to give Spencer a second chance – which, given she'd recently been in the hospital because of her, wasn't surprising.

"But you're here," Emily pointed out, "which means you're on our side. Right?"

Aria held her breath as she waited for the reply. Even if Spencer assured them that she was on their side, Aria wondered if they'd be able to fully believe her. But that would be better than admitting that she was still on the A-Team.

Spencer took her time considering her reply. She let her gaze drift around the room, taking in each of the girls. Then she looked down at her shoes and mumbled, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Aria echoed.

"Spencer, how can you not know whether you want to torment your friends or whether you want to – to bake them cookies?" Hanna demanded, folding her arms and glaring at her.

Emily took a more subtle approach. "Spence, with everything that's happened, you get why it's hard for us to trust you, right?"

"Of course," Spencer said quickly. "I'm not asking you to trust me. I just needed to say goodbye to Aria, but since that's obviously not relevant anymore -"

She started moving towards the door, and for a second Aria thought about letting her leave. "Wait," she called. "Spencer. Just stay."

Spencer turned back to them, still unsure. Aria wondered what she was thinking.

"You're here now, so can we at least talk?" she pressed.

"I guess," Spencer allowed, with an anxious glance out the window.

"Mona and Toby don't know you're here, do they?" Emily asked, quick to pick up on it.

Spencer shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"Why are you here?" Hanna asked suddenly, making Spencer whip her head around to look at her.

"I came to say goodbye."

"Why? What would you care if she was dead? Isn't she just a pawn in your twisted game?"

Hanna was getting agitated, and Emily leaned over and whispered something into her ear; it made her scowl, but she fell silent.

"It's not like that," Spencer said, turning her gaze back to Aria. "I'm sorry about what happened. When I heard you were dead, I didn't – I couldn't deal with it. You saved me, even when you had no reason to, and I don't know why."

Aria took a deep breath. She was about to take a huge risk, and it would either blow up in her face or help to bring Spencer back to them. "I did it because you're my friend, Spencer."

It wasn't often that Spencer Hastings was speechless, but now was one of those times. She stared at Aria, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide in surprise. Aria waited for her response, her heart on her sleeve. She'd always secretly hoped that Spencer did care about them, and if that was the case, maybe there was some way to get her back. She still didn't quite know what had possessed her to push Spencer out of the way of the speeding car, but she was suddenly glad she had.

"I don't know what to say," Spencer stated hesitantly, and Aria thought she heard Hanna snicker. "I tried to frame you for Ali's murder, I threatened to kill you, I pretty much set you up to be run over… and you still saved me. I can't think of a way to thank you for that."

Aria looked at the other two, who nodded their encouragement. Then to Spencer she said, "I think I might know a way."

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Even as she spoke to the girls, Spencer felt overwhelmed by emotions. She was definitely relieved that Aria wasn't dead, but it was a lot more complicated than that. She felt cheated – the girls had set this up to trap her, and it had worked. She was worried how Toby and Mona would react if they found out she was having this conversation, although she had a feeling Mona had known about her intention to go to the memorial. Confusion was also at the top of the list of emotions, along with denial, frustration, and something different, something warmer… something almost like love.

"Name it," Spencer said. She didn't like the thought of being in Aria's debt, and maybe this could be a way to get out of it.

"I want you to tell us everything," Aria said. "Starting from when you created the A-Team. Talk us through everything you've done."

Spencer balked. "You want me to tell you _everything_?"

"Everything," Aria confirmed. Seeing that Spencer was still reluctant, she added, "And in exchange, I'll tell you how I faked my own death."

Curiosity got the better of her. "Fine," she said, folding her arms. "I'll tell you."

She recounted her story, from asking Mona to help her, to killing Alison, to convincing Toby to join the team. She explained who'd done what in their plans, who'd come up with which ideas. As she spoke she saw the girls shrinking further away from her, disgusted. She could understand that. After all she'd done, she could hardly even look at herself in the mirror. When she'd finished – she told them everything from the past, but she didn't tell them what the final plan this time was – she dropped her gaze and waited for them to speak.

"Thank you for being honest," Aria said, startling her.

She looked up. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I can't ask you guys to forgive me, but… at least now you can judge me on what I've done."

"We're not judging you, Spence," Aria said, and shot a glare at Hanna, who looked like she was about to argue. "I mean, yeah, you've… but it's over. It's okay."

Spencer had to run the sentence through in her mind to make sure she'd understood correctly. Was she... being forgiven? Then she shook her head slightly. That wasn't right. They couldn't forgive her. She figured they were only doing that to get more information, so she could help stop Mona and Toby – and was she even willing to do that? If she did, the girls would probably turn against her again, and she'd be left with nothing.

"No," she said. "Aria, please don't… please don't forgive me. I can't -"

"Fine, we hate you," Hanna chimed in, and she didn't entirely look like she was joking.

"Hanna," Emily chided. She turned back to Spencer. "We're not exactly forgiving you, Spencer. We're just… giving you a second chance."

She thought about it. That sounded more reasonable. She knew she didn't deserve forgiveness, but she didn't know what she wanted. Could she betray the A-Team, like she thought Toby had? Oh god, Toby. He'd only pretended to go against the team and work with the girls in order to get more information from them, but could she actually do it? What would that mean for them, if she changed sides?

"Okay," she mumbled. "So can you tell me how you… you know?"

Aria smirked, suddenly pleased with herself. "How I faked my death? Sure. It wasn't too hard. I had Wren get me released from the hospital. Mom picked me up and I've been staying at her apartment. We figured you'd come back to see me, and when I wasn't there, we thought you'd call one of the girls. It was easy enough to get them to convince you I was dead – after all, you were there. You saw how hard that car hit me. Emily told Toby about the memorial – we weren't entirely convinced he was on our side, and I guess this proves it. And we thought if he told you, and you showed…"

"It would prove I'm on your side," Spencer finished softly. Except, was she really on their side? Could she really do that?

Suddenly everything felt like too much. She needed to get out of here. This was too much, too soon, and she couldn't handle it. She was halfway to the door before she'd realized she was moving, and it was only the sound of Aria's voice that stopped her.

"Spencer, where are you going?"

"I can't do this," Spencer said, pausing at the door to meet the shocked gazes of her former friends. "I'm sorry."

"Spencer, please -" Aria said, rising to her feet. "Just -"

She didn't let her finish. She let the door slam behind her as she took off down the street, no destination in mind and nothing driving her but a desperate desire to be as far away as possible. She couldn't hurt her 'friends' anymore, but she couldn't turn her back on the A-Team. They had the power to destroy her, especially now that Mona was Red Coat. She was well and truly stuck.

She kept walking until the sound of her cell made her pull up short. No matter who it was, she was sure she didn't want to talk to them. It was Mona. She definitely didn't want to talk to her. But she couldn't ignore her – at least not without unpleasant repercussions – so she read the message.

**Spence – meet me at the Brew in ten minutes. Need to talk. –Mona**

She debated ignoring the message and just going back to her house for the day, but she didn't want to think about what Mona would do if she skipped out on her. With a sigh she turned her footsteps towards town, wondering what Mona wanted.

Mona was already there, so Spencer slid into the seat opposite her and waited for her to talk.

"So what have you been doing today?" Mona asked.

Spencer met her eyes and suddenly felt daring. "I went to Aria's memorial."

"That's an interesting thing to do," Mona said, seeming totally unsurprised by the information, "especially since she's not actually dead."

Caught between shock and confusion, Spencer just raised an eyebrow and waited for Mona to go on.

"But I appreciate your candidness," she said. "To be honest I was hoping the bitch was dead, but I guess it wasn't her time. We can always fix that though, right?"

"What do you want, Mona?" Spencer asked tiredly.

"I'm giving you a chance to prove your loyalty. I want to offer you a deal," Mona said silkily. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll go along with it."

"I'm listening."

When Spencer left the Brew twenty minutes later, she felt like she'd just sold her soul to the devil – again. Mona had offered her a way out, a way to finally put a stop to all of this. The cost? Her friends' freedom. The reward? Toby's life.

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**Uh oh. What's Spencer going to do?**


	19. Shifting tides

**Forever Courage - Mona sure knows the best way to get to Spencer, right? But maybe Spencer will finally come around and talk to the girls.  
simplykalx - thank you! I hope the suspense wasn't too bad. ;)  
Runawaybaby555 - poor Spencer indeed. What's she gonna do? Only in Rosewood can someone nearly die and then casually get released from the hospital - oh, Wren. Hanna was such fun to write this chapter, I'll admit; I'm really enjoying writing her as hostile towards Spencer. As for what to look forward to... well, PMs from me. Reviews for your next story. And, I'll be writing lots more stories, of course. :p  
ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - exactly, Sparia is just perfect. Aria loves Spencer, even after all she's done... and maybe that'll be enough to bring Spence back to them. Thank you for such a lovely review! I'll be sad when this ends too, but there's no way I'll stop writing. I have a few other stories in the works, including Spanna and Spemily, but I will definitely write more Sparia in the future. I love them too much to stop writing for them, ever.  
SwanQueen4055 - thanks!  
Bagilia - oh, good. Had me worried there for a second. ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter.  
insertnameherex - I love your imagining of the ending! I have to say it's probably unlikely... but hey, maybe that'll feature in another story. ;) I'm glad you liked the Hanna lines; she's actually the Liar I find it hardest to write for, so it's great to hear I did it well. And thank you, as always, for the wonderfully sweet and long review, it means so much to me. Someday we should talk more (and not just through reviews) because you seem like a really nice person.  
Sgdp1261 - those were exactly the reactions I was going for. :p I feel bad for Spence at the moment; she's trying to change but everyone (except maybe Aria, who's always sort of been on her side) is making it so hard for her. But this chapter is... well, you'll see. And I hope you like it!**

**Okay. Not much to say about this one. Getting so close to the end, and next chapter is when the action is really going to start. See you all there!**

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_There were only a handful of times that Spencer could remember being genuinely scared. One of those had been the night Ian died; she tried not to think about that night too much, but occasionally it would drift to the forefront of her mind._

_Things had gotten out of control. She'd just wanted to trick the girls into thinking she was on their side. She hadn't expected Ian to be there, much less having figured out their plan. Ian had always intimidated her, and at one point she had mistaken her feelings for something close to love. Later she came to terms with the fact that it had been not love but jealousy. He was strong, commanding respect and demanding obedience, and she wanted that. She hated that people saw her as the weak little schoolgirl._

_But that's what she'd been that night. Running up the stairs to the belltower, her lungs on fire and her heart on the verge of breaking her chest, she felt… powerless. Ian had all the control in this situation. She knew she stood no chance if it came to a physical confrontation, so her best bet was to try to outrun him._

_Without even thinking about it she called Emily. Maybe if the girls were close enough, they could stop Ian. It was selfish, wanting them to come to her aid when she'd been trying to destroy them for months, but in that moment she didn't care. When she almost ran into Ian the phone went flying from her hands as he tackled her, and she thought that this might be the end. But the struggle wore on. He was stronger, but she was quicker._

_"You didn't mean to hurt Alison," he panted as he threw her to the floor, "huh? It was an accident. You pushed her and she fell."_

_"Is that what happened?" Spencer gasped as he hauled her to her feet and pushed her against the wall. She'd thought that he might have actually known she'd killed Ali, that somehow he'd found proof. But he was just going to frame her for the murder – which, incidentally, she had actually committed. If she wasn't so terrified she might have been relieved, or even impressed._

_"She just hit her head, and she never woke up," Ian said, coming towards her._

_"Alison died of suffocation," Spencer said, silently adding, _I should know. I'm the one who buried her.

_He spun her around and slammed her against the banister. "The letter that I wrote on your computer won't answer all the questions… it'll answer enough. The guilt was just too much for you…"_

_He accompanied his words with another shove, which broke the wooden barrier, the only thing standing between Spencer and certain death. She let out a sob, hating him for doing this to her and hating herself for being so weak. She was Spencer Hastings. She was supposed to be calm, collected, always in control. And here she was, hanging on by a thread, unable to do more than sob as she tumbled over the edge. Her hand shot out and she grabbed onto whatever she could, desperate not to let it end this way._

_She caught a flash of a black hoodie, heard Ian cry, "What are you doing here?", and then he was falling and she was scrambling up, the bell clanging out a mournful tune. She clung to the pole, trying to steady her breathing. The bell kept ringing, but she could hardly hear it over the sound of the blood rushing in her ears. Gradually she became aware of another sound – her friends calling out her name – but she couldn't bring herself to answer._

_A minute later the girls sprinted up the stairs, their eyes widening as they saw Spencer sitting there, pale and shocked and unable to speak._

_"Are you okay?" Emily asked softly, crouching down beside her. Her gaze drifted down to where Ian swung, tangled in the ropes. Aria saw it a second later, and Hanna was only a moment behind._

_They were quick to try to convince her that she did what she had to, but she was already thinking past that. Where they saw a tragedy, she saw an opportunity._

_"Ian killed Alison, and he tried to kill me," she whimpered. The fear she was still feeling made it easier to play the victim._

_"It's over," Aria assured her, pulling her in and letting Spencer sob on her shoulder. "It's over."_

_But Spencer knew this was only the beginning._

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Aria had been out of hospital for a week by the time she was able to take the bandage off her wrist. It still hurt to move, but the doctors assured her it wasn't broken. She'd used that as a defense when her mother had berated her for leaving the hospital against medical advice, but Mike had stepped in to say he was glad she was home. She still had the bandage on her foot and she couldn't walk without limping, but she didn't feel as horrible as she'd thought she would. The painkillers worked wonders, and she still had plenty left.

She wished there was something to numb the pain in her heart. Despite the fact that her ribs still felt bruised and it hurt to breathe, and she had so many cuts and scrapes that taking a shower was a nightmare, that wasn't what was bothering her the most. It was the fact that she'd tried her hardest, and she still hadn't succeeded.

She'd hoped that her death would be enough to snap Spencer out of it, that it would be able to reach her in a way that nothing else had. She was still convinced that Spencer had, on some level, really cared for them, and actually wanted to be her friend. She'd warned Aria about the car, after all, and she was sure by this stage that the phone call Spencer had taken that night wasn't from her mother – it was most likely from Mona. And from the sounds of it, Spencer had tried to stop it.

Then there was the fact that she'd tried to visit Aria in the hospital. She'd brought flowers, which, unless she was very twisted and planning something horrible, meant that she'd sincerely been there to wish her well. If Emily and Hanna hadn't forced her away, maybe they could have even talked. Maybe they could have figured things out.

And if she wasn't on their side, why would she have gone to the memorial? They'd been right in thinking that Toby was still on the A-Team, and from what Spencer had said it sounded like he'd only pretended to be their friend so he could get information – and he hadn't told Spencer because he needed it to be believable. He'd told her about the memorial, when they'd expressly told him not to tell anyone, so that very strongly indicated that he wasn't on their side. But he'd told Spencer, and she'd shown up – without telling Mona. Which meant that she hadn't been there to set them up or to take them down. She had, it seemed, been genuinely upset over Aria's death.

At first Aria had thought that she was reaching, that she was trying so hard to see good in Spencer that she was bending the facts, blurring them in her mind until she recognized her friend again. Hanna had agreed with her, saying that Spencer wasn't to be trusted and had probably been playing them from the start. But Emily had been more cautious, weighing the evidence against her opinion, and had come to the tentative conclusion that Spencer could potentially be on their side.

Aria, meanwhile, had become increasingly sure of it. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Spencer had killed Ali, started the A-Team, gone after the girls – that much was irrefutable. But maybe her time away had done her good. It wasn't unthinkable that she'd had a change of heart. Even back at the gala, Aria had thought she'd seen traces of the old Spencer, something softer and more uncertain. It was more pronounced now, and it made her heart ache. She had a feeling that Spencer wanted to come back to them, but something was stopping her.

Since Spencer had run out at the memorial, the girls hadn't heard from her. Aria had tried to call her a few times, and sent her about ten texts a day, but she hadn't replied to any of them. She'd also tried to talk to her at school, but that girl had gotten incredibly good at avoiding all of them. She still turned up to class and all her extracurriculars, but she was impossible to pin down.

On Friday at lunch Aria was sitting with Hanna, Emily, Paige, and Caleb. It was unusually quiet; they were all still walking on eggshells around Aria. Caleb and Paige had been filled in on what had happened, and both of them had seemed eager to start up Spencer's lynch mob. Emily and Hanna had eventually talked them out of it, the latter more reluctantly, but Aria could tell by the way they were looking at her that they still wanted to go after Spencer.

"So has –A been bothering you lately?" Caleb asked, startling all of them.

Hanna glared at him and then flicked her eyes towards Aria, her message clear: _not in front of the invalid_.

"No," Aria said, ignoring Hanna. "We haven't."

"But you'd tell us if they had, right?" Paige pushed, and it was Emily's turn to glare; Aria knew Emily appreciated that Paige was just trying to help, but sometimes she didn't go about it the best way.

"Yes, we'd tell you," Aria said, but she had to wonder how true that was. She still hadn't even told Ezra that Spencer was behind this – and maybe if she could just talk some sense into her, she wouldn't have to.

At that moment Aria's phone went off. So did Hanna's. And Emily's. They looked at each other, hearts sinking. It had been a while since they'd been sent a group message like this, and there was only one thing it could mean.

"That did not just happen," Aria muttered, flipping open her phone. The others followed suit.

**Missing your fourth musketeer? You can get her back, you know. –A**

There was an address, followed by a date and time: Sunday at 8pm. The girls let the words sink in, none of them wanting to start what would probably be a furious argument. Finally Aria put her phone back in her pocket and said, "I think we should go."

"Are you crazy?" Hanna exclaimed. "Spencer tried to kill us. For all we know she's still on the A-Team and this is all a trap. I'm sorry, Aria, but I'm not risking my life for her."

"What if it's true, though?" Emily put in. "If Spencer's really on our side, she could be in danger."

"And if she's not, then we'll be the ones in danger," Hanna argued.

"Hanna, she came to my memorial," Aria protested. There was a shout to her left and she suddenly remembered where they were. She glanced around the cafeteria, then lowered her voice and went on, "She cares about us, I know she does. And I think the rest of the A-Team knows too. I wouldn't put it past them to turn on her just to get to us."

"And I wouldn't put it past her to turn us over to them just to get what she wants," Hanna said.

Caleb and Paige had been silent during this exchange; now they looked at each other, uncomfortable. Aria turned to them. "What do you think? You guys are involved in this, you may as well have a say."

"I don't think Spencer's on your side," Caleb said reluctantly.

"It sounds like she's just playing you," Paige added. "I don't want it to seem like I'm doubting your judgment, Aria, but I don't think you should trust Spencer."

Aria took a moment to glare at both of them. "You know, I take it back. You two don't get a say. And Hanna, I know you don't trust her, but I do. And whatever you say, I'm going."

"Me too," Emily added.

Hanna frowned. "Two against one. –A wins."

Aria mustered up a smile. "No. This time, we're going to win."

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Spencer had never felt more conflicted. Friday afternoon, she sat by herself in the courtyard, picking absently at a salad. She supposed she should eat something, but her appetite had yet to return. After Mona's offer in the coffeeshop, she'd spent a lot of time by herself. Toby had tried to talk to her a few times, but she'd declined his calls. She'd also ignored all of the messages Aria had sent her – and god, there were a lot. Emily had even texted her once or twice, but she hadn't heard anything from Hanna.

She shredded a piece of lettuce with her fork, thinking. She'd been doing a lot of thinking this past week, and she was no closer to a conclusion. The options were unthinkable. Either she turned the girls over to Mona, getting them arrested as per her original plan, or Mona would kill Toby.

"I understand why Toby pretended to be friends with the girls," Mona had said, nonchalantly stirring sugar into her coffee, "but your motives are a little less clear. What's your gameplan, Spencer?"

_I don' have a gameplan. I want out. I can't do this anymore._

She'd wanted to tell Mona that it was over, but she knew she couldn't. She hadn't realized just how determined the other girl was, how much she wanted revenge. She and Mona hadn't always agreed, but she'd never thought that she would ever be in a position where she would need to completely go against her. But now she knew she couldn't hand the girls over, not after everything that had happened. Aria had saved her, almost died for her. Emily was willing to give her a second chance. Even Hanna might be persuaded to let her back into the group.

She'd spent so long pretending to be their friend, so long secretly going against them, that she hadn't given herself time to register what had actually happened: she'd started to really care for the girls. The A-Team wasn't where her true loyalties lay, but she felt like she was in too deep to back out. She couldn't go through with the plan now, but she couldn't back out of the team without Mona going after her too. She'd made that mistake before, choosing herself over her friends, and she wouldn't let it happen again.

She threw the rest of her salad in the trash and headed for her car. She sent a message to Aria on the way, not sure whether this would work. But she had to try.

Aria replied in less than a minute. **Meet me at my house after school.**

When Spencer showed up, Emily and Hanna were already there. She saw their cars in the street and hesitated, but then she realized it was better this way. She could talk to them all at the same time, and they could sink or swim – together.

Aria opened the door, and wordlessly ushered her towards the living room. Emily looked up when she walked in, but Hanna refused to acknowledge her entrance. Aria sat down in her usual place, and Spencer went to stand by the television again. But Aria smiled and patted the seat beside her, making Spencer's heart miss a beat. Was she really being accepted back into the group?

She sat down, trying to ignore the way Hanna was glaring at her, and said, "You need to go to the cabin on Sunday."

"Why?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, what's there?" Aria added.

"And how do we know it's not another setup?" Hanna said suspiciously.

"It is," Spencer said. "But the difference is, this time I'm on your side."

She knew they didn't entirely trust her, but if this was going to work, she had to convince them. She felt slightly panicky at the thought that they might not believe her.

"I mean it," she went on. "I know I've done some unspeakable things, but this isn't one of them. You have no reason to trust me and even less of a reason to help me, but I need you to do both. We can stop the A-Team, but only if we work together."

"Spencer, I don't mean to sound rude, but… how do we know we can trust you?" Emily looked almost embarrassed to be asking.

"You can trust me," Spencer assured them quickly. "I'll do whatever it takes to prove it to you."

"You could start by telling us what's going to happen on Sunday," Hanna said sharply, a challenge in her voice.

Spencer met her eyes. Hanna seemed the most upset by everything, and the least wiling to welcome her back. If she could get through to her, maybe they could come up with a plan to stop this. "The plan was to get you all to go to the cabin," Spencer explained. "We were going to plant Ali's body there, and send the police an anonymous tip – along with the photos of you guys at her grave the night the body was stolen."

"You were going to have us arrested for stealing Ali's body," Hanna said darkly. "And whose brilliant plan was that?"

Spencer ducked her head. "Mine."

"So that's easy enough to avoid, right?" Aria asked, looking hopefully at the others. "We just don't show up."

"It's not that simple," Spencer said. "For one thing, what's to stop them from sending the tip anyway? They don't need to find you with the body to be suspicious. They'd take you in for questioning, and with everything you've – we've – lied about, I'd be surprised if they couldn't pin something on you."

"On us," Hanna said. "If we're going down, you're coming down with us."

"R-right." Spencer looked down at her hands. She'd made a mess of everything, and there was no way she'd get out of this unscathed. But if she could get them all out of it alive, then maybe that would be good enough.

"And for another thing?" Emily asked, obviously sensing she was holding something back.

"I… Mona said that if I don't go along with the plan, she's going to kill Toby."

Silence settled over all of them. Spencer took a deep breath. Everything hung on the way they reacted to her next question. It could make or break her.

She met each of their eyes, gathered all of her courage, and asked, "So will you help me?"

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**About time, right?**


	20. Changing game

**Runawaybaby555 – thank you for all your support throughout this story! I always kind of want Mona to win, but I also kind of want the Liars to win. #PLLproblems. I am still laughing about your last review, I'm glad you liked last chapter. The last few chapters are going to be light on the humor, but heavy on the Sparia. Hope you enjoy them. ;)**

**Forever Courage – it's been a long road, but of course Spencer would end up back with the girls. But as you'll see this chapter they don't entirely trust her – and you'll also find out whether they should.**

**Bagilia – I don't want to end it either! I've had so much fun and it's going to be sad to see it finish, but alas, this is the end of the road. But after this I'll be free to work on other stories, so maybe I'll see some of you guys there. : )**

**SwanQueen4055 – thanks for your continued support. : )**

**insertnameherex – thanks for all your kind words and encouragement. I've been really doubting my writing ability lately, so your reviews mean a lot. I don't mind the age difference, I'm friends with people who are that much older than me, so if you want to talk feel free to get in touch, I don't bite. ;) As I've said before I will definitely continue writing, so you can look forward to some of my other stories. :p Plus, you know, the rest of season four of the actual show – I've really liked it so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest. I'm also excited to see how you guys react to the end of this story. :)**

**Sgdp1261 – oh, Mona is totally a villain, and that's what makes her so freaking brilliant. I love her so much. But I also love Spencer and the Liars. As you'll see this chapter, the girls are also a little hesitant to trust Spence – which is understandable, given everything she's done. But Spencer is about to show her true colors, so stay tuned. ;)**

**Sorry for the slow reply, guys. I kind of lost faith in my writing and was too nervous to post anything. But you've all been so great and I didn't want to leave you hanging, so... enjoy. See you next chapter. :)**

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Aria watched the shadows play along the dashboard of the car. It was Sunday night, and she was sitting outside the cabin – the address that the A-Team had sent them. It was a little place in the middle of nowhere, and as she looked at it she couldn't help but think that nobody could hear her scream from out here. It was the perfect place for some kind of nefarious plan, most likely one that would end with somebody getting hurt.

She checked her phone again. The others should get here any minute now; Emily and Hanna had gone to drop off Caleb and Paige nearby; they were their backup if anything went wrong. Spencer had wanted to go with Aria, but the girls had refused. Hanna had even claimed that Aria was safer by herself than with Spencer, who hadn't quite been able to argue. So Spencer had gone with them, and Aria was by herself, wondering if she'd made a huge mistake.

Finally the girls turned up, and she got out of her car and jogged over to meet them. She'd only been waiting about five minutes, but it had felt like forever. The woods were spooky at night, and she didn't want to be alone.

"We all set?" she asked as she approached them.

"Yeah," Emily replied, shoving her hands in her pockets and leading the way to the cabin.

"No problems?" Aria asked, and Hanna gave Spencer a quick glare before reluctantly shaking her head.

They fell silent as they made their way up to the cabin. All of them knew that something horrible was waiting for them. Was Ali's body already in the cabin? Were Mona and Toby going to ambush them? Was Spencer going to hand them over?

Although she hated to admit it, there was still a small part of Aria that didn't trust Spencer. She hadn't forgiven her, and she wasn't sure she ever would, but she didn't hate her. But she still wasn't entirely sure of her motives. Spencer had proven time and time again that she could keep a secret, break the law without a second thought, hurt her friends without hesitation – but she seemed different now. Genuine, somehow. Unless this was her most brilliant play ever, and she was leading them right into a trap.

They were almost at the cabin when something caught their eye. Just off the path was something that didn't belong. It looked like a large rectangular piece of wood, but Hanna was staring at it like it was a mismatched pair of shoes – a cardinal sin in her books.

"Han, what is that?" Emily asked.

Ignoring her, Hanna bent down and picked it up. She ran a finger along the edge of it, then looked around as if she expected to see the person who left it there.

"Hanna," Aria said, feeling a sudden sense of dread, "what is it?"

"It… it's a Ouija board," Hanna said at last.

"Great, and what is it doing out here?" Aria looked around, and noticed that there was a trail of something off to her right. It looked like small pieces of paper, painted yellow – although it was hard to tell in the low light.

"This is what I left in Ali's casket," Hanna admitted. She flipped it over, and then she dug her phone out of her pocket and shined the light on the back of the board. "There's a message."

Emily yanked it out of her hands and read it. "'Follow the yellow brick road.' What does that mean?"

"I think I know." Aria pointed to the trail of yellow paper, which led off down a path that looked even more foreboding than the abandoned cabin before them.

Hanna picked up the closest piece of paper, and in the dim light cast by her phone Aria could see that it was actually painted like a brick. Someone had gone to a lot of effort.

"Hey, what is this?" Hanna asked, turning the piece of paper over.

"It looks like a postcard," Aria said, reaching for it, but Emily intercepted it. "Does this mean something to you, Em?"

She nodded, snatching up the next postcard, and the next. When she had a handful of them she turned back to the girls with a worried look on her face. "These are what _I_ left in Ali's casket."

Hanna glanced from the Ouija board to the postcards, then let her gaze drift along the path the remaining postcards made.

"What are you thinking, Han?" Aria asked, noting the way her brow was furrowed in concentration.

"-A wants to split us up," Hanna said. "This path… it's specific. It's like they want me and Emily to go that way, and -"

Aria tuned her out, her attention caught by something hanging from the doorknob. She went over to it and saw that it was a small leather bag, no bigger than her palm. When she opened it she realized that Hanna was right. Inside was a pair of pink earrings, the ones she'd left in the casket. The A-Team was trying to split them up.

"Aria?" Emily was saying, sounding impatient.

"Hanna's right." Aria faced her friends again, the bag clasped in her hand.

"So –A wants us to go this way and you to go into the cabin," Hanna said.

"Like hell that's gonna happen," Aria muttered, tossing the bag to the side. Splitting up was never a good idea, especially since they knew they were probably walking into a trap.

"I'm with Aria," Spencer said nervously. "I don't think -"

"Nobody asked you," Hanna interrupted, and Spencer, biting back an automatic sharp retort, fell silent. "Look, you guys wanted to come here, I didn't. So I should get to make this decision, and I say that we split up."

"Hanna -"

"No, Hanna's right," Emily said, already beginning to move down the path. "-A wants us to go this way, I think we should. We'll call Caleb and Paige if we need help. If the A-Team wants to hurt us they're going to whether we're together or not, so we may as well play along for now."

Aria still didn't like this idea, but there seemed to be no stopping Hanna and Emily, who were already walking down the path. "Fine," she said, relenting. "But call us or the other guys if you run into any trouble."

"Sure," Emily agreed quickly, bending down to pick up the next postcard.

Hanna paused a few steps away, and shot one last look at Spencer. "If you hurt her, I will kill you."

Spencer watched silently as Hanna and Emily disappeared out of sight, then turned to Aria. "You know I -"

"Don't," Aria said, reaching for the door. "I trust you."

What she saw when she walked inside made her doubt that statement. It was not, as Spencer had predicted, an empty room. There was no sign of the body, but there was a table across from them, beneath the window. Slanted moonlight illuminated the mess of photographs that lay on it, and when Aria turned the dim light on she could see what the pictures were: the night Ali's body was stolen. She approached the table cautiously, Spencer a step behind, and looked at the photos.

They were divided into two distinct piles. The one on the left had pictures of the four of them beside Ali's grave, looking guilty as hell. The pictures on the right were similar, except for one key difference: Spencer wasn't in any of them. Underneath the table was a duffel bag, and when Aria pulled it out she saw that it was full of journals. She flicked through a couple, knowing at once what they were. Spencer took one from her, mouth falling open as she realized that they were her journals, the ones detailing how she'd killed Ali, set up the A-Team, and tortured the girls.

Aria spun in a full circle, taking in the rest of the room. There were photos on the wall, too, of herself, Hanna, and Emily. There were diagrams and lists, plans and schemes, laid out on all four walls. This looked exactly like –A's lair.

At the end of her circle she faced Spencer, whose face was impassive. Realization dawned on her with horrible clarity. She didn't want to believe it, but nothing else made sense. "You set me up."

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"No!" Spencer said wildly. She'd been as surprised as Aria to see that the room wasn't laid out like she'd anticipated. She knew what it looked like, but this wasn't her fault. The implications started hitting her, one after the other, until she felt faint. "No," she said again, more softly. "Aria, I didn't do this."

"Then what the hell is this?" Aria threw her arms wide open, gesturing to the room, which genuinely looked like a lair.

"I don't know," Spencer said anxiously, "but this wasn't me. This is a setup. We need to get out of here -"

She grabbed Aria's arm and started tugging, trying to get her to leave, but Aria shrugged out of her grasp and stepped back.

"Spencer, I -"

She cut across her, suddenly desperate to leave. "We can talk later. But right now we need to _leave_. Let's go find Hanna and Emily and get the hell out of here."

Aria shook her head. "I want to believe you're telling the truth, but.."

"You don't trust me." Spencer's voice came out more harshly than she'd intended, and she chewed the inside of her lip, trying to work out how to get through to Aria without scaring her. "It's okay, I wouldn't trust me either. But it's not safe here. Mona and Toby set this up, and they'll probably be back any minute."

"We should call the others," Aria said at last, pulling out her phone. "Maybe they've found something useful."

While Aria started dialling, Spencer kept perusing the photos. There was something significant about the way they were arranged, and she felt like she should be able to work out what it was. The faintest stirrings of an idea had started to appear when she heard a groan from behind her.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Aria exclaimed, and a second later she threw her phone across the room. "Damn thing has no reception."

Spencer tried hers, but had as much luck. "This is bad, Aria. We should leave."

Aria wrapped her arms around herself, and Spencer had the urge to hug her. If she was still the old Spencer, the one who was pretending to be their friend, she would have. But she was the new and improved version, the one who was sincerely trying to be her friend, and she knew she had to keep her distance.

"Fine." Aria threw one last look at the photographs and the journals, and then headed for the door.

Spencer followed, but pulled up short as she realized what was happening. Aria was frantically trying to open the door, but no matter how hard she pulled or how forcefully she pushed, it didn't budge.

"We're locked in," Spencer said, already scanning the room for other exits. The window. That was her best hope. She hurried across the room, while Aria kept jiggling the door handle, and examined the window. She leaned over the table and undid the latch, then started shimmying the window up. After a moment she gave up, stood back up, and then started pushing the table out of the way. Once it hit the wall she turned her attention to the window again.

It opened reasonably easily, and she felt hope flutter in her chest as she nudged it open the last few inches. But that hope was shattered as she looked outside. The window wasn't high up, and it would be an easy thing to step down to the ground – except that between her and the ground was a thorny bush that stretched about three feet in front and even further to the sides. Unless she wanted to lose a couple of limbs, that was not the way to go.

With a sigh she started pulling the window back down. "Aria, I think -"

Several things seemed to happen at once. There was a clicking, a muffled cry, and quick footsteps. Spencer whirled around, her heart leaping to her throat, and took in the scene before her with horror.

The door was closed, but the rush of cold air told her it had recently been open. Aria was still standing by the door, but she was no longer alone. Mona was standing to one side, donned in her black hoodie and a wicked smile, casually twirling a gun in her fingers. And Toby stood behind Aria, his arm around her throat and a gun pressed to her head. She was looking at Spencer with terrified eyes, and Spencer couldn't help but remember the last time she'd been in this situation. She was on the other side this time, and for a split second she wished she weren't.

"Mona," she said as calmly as she could manage. "Toby. What are you doing here?"

"We're here to finish what you started, of course." Mona glanced idly at Toby and Aria, then took a few steps forward. "I had hoped I was wrong about you, Spencer."

She was normally so quick thinking, but she couldn't even come up with a response, let alone a plan to get them out of here. Maybe she was on the wrong side. She could go back to the A-Team – in some ways she'd never even left – and get out of this alive. She'd even taken a tentative step forward, half-convinced she was going to offer to help Mona, but the sight of Aria stopped her. Aria had been willing to give her life for her. This was no way to repay her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, coming to a stop.

"After the memorial, we realized you weren't being entirely truthful with us," Mona replied, sauntering over to her. "But Toby convinced me to give you another chance."

"What do you want?"

Mona shared a look with Toby. "It's not about what I want," she said. "It's about what _you_ need."

"Uh huh. And what do I need?" She was hoping, foolishly, that if she kept Mona talking for long enough she'd be able to come up with a way out of this. Unfortunately, no strokes of brilliance were coming to her.

"You need to make a choice," Mona stated. "You're either with us or you're against us. You can't have it both ways, Spence."

"Seems a little elaborate, don't you think?" Spencer asked, gesturing at the room, at all the pictures and diagrams. "All of this just to get me to make a choice. You could have just asked me, you know."

"Oh, that wouldn't have been enough." Mona ran a finger along the gun, giving Spencer a devilish smile. "Besides, this way's more fun."

"So what happens now?" Spencer backed up a few paces, but she knew it was no use. The only exit was blocked, and Mona and Toby both had guns. She felt utterly powerless, and she hated it.

"Well, that's up to you." Mona's eyes were glittering, and Spencer was reminded again of a predator, something hungry and vicious, just waiting to tear her to shreds. "You see, Spence, one of you is going to die tonight. And you get to choose which one."

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	21. Rewind, unbind, restore

**Well, here it is: the penultimate chapter. Only one left! Most of the action happens in this one and the last one is mostly just for resolution. Still, I hope you enjoy them both.**

**FluteNinjaEm - thank you so much! Good theories, and you'll see if you're right soon.  
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**Guest - here's the update, hope you enjoy! And thanks for the review, it's great to know people are liking my story.  
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**insertnameherex - you are too sweet, and I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me. You are one of my favorite reviewers ever, seriously. To be honest writing fanfiction is kind of a way to hone my skills in the hopes that someday I'll be able to actually write a book worthy of publishing, so we'll see how that goes. I look forward to hearing from you sometime; if in doubt, just say the words Sparia or Wrencer and I will happily talk for hours. ;)  
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**SwanQueen4055 - thanks for all your reviews, I really appreciate them.  
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**Runawaybaby555 - thank you for your reviews, and your support, and for your opinion on this chapter. Couldn't have done it without you. I hope the rest of this chapter doesn't disappoint.  
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**Bagilia - what do you mean, '_getting _interesting'? :p Thanks for the review!  
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**Sgdp1261 - Spencer's sort of a wildcard in this, but she proves her loyalty this chapter; er, sort of. You won't really get the whole story until next chapter. Fun fact: I've never seen The Wizard of Oz (well, never finished it). And yes, you caught me! I'm secretly a PLL writer... that's why I'm using my best A plans in fics and not on the show. :p Thank you for the reviews, and for the compliments. It's people like you who keep me writing. :)  
**  
**Forever Courage - Spencer's still conflicted, but she makes her choice this chapter.**

**All right. I'm nervous to post this because I'm worried it might be a letdown after so much has happened... so, go easy on me, guys. See you next chapter, where Salvation will come to a close.**

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Spencer's eyes were darting around the room. Aria thought she could actually hear the cogs turning in her mind, and she wouldn't have been surprised if a luminescent lightbulb had appeared above Spencer's head. Aria was biting her lip so hard she thought she'd draw blood; she knew screaming wouldn't help out here, and she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She knew now that Spencer hadn't set her up, but she wasn't entirely sure that meant she was on her side. Spencer had made this choice before, and she'd picked herself over her 'friends'. If she did the same now, Aria would be dead.

"That's what this is," Spencer said, and Aria was surprised to hear more than a hint of admiration in her voice. "If I pick your side, we take down the girls together. These journals, the pictures of me at Ali's grave – they disappear, right? Those pictures on the table… you can either give the police the ones of all of us, or the ones with just the girls. Nothing to connect me to the crime, I get off easy, right? You kill Aria, frame Hanna and Emily like we planned, and we just walk out of here. But if I choose the girls, then you take me down. You kill me, make it seem like I'm the only one behind all this, and you two walk away, right? What happens to the girls if I do that?"

"If you were to make such a… self-sacrificial move, I think that would prompt Toby and I to give the girls a break. Your death would secure their freedom – or at least convince us to get rid of these incriminating photos," Mona explained.

"So if you kill me, Aria walks out of here?"

Mona nodded. "I don't want that much blood on my hands. Not just yet, anyway."

Aria watched the scene unfolding, feeling faintly sick. Was Spencer really going to sacrifice herself? Would she literally take a bullet for her? Maybe that would be her way of paying Aria back for saving her from the car – but could Aria really live with herself if she let one of her best friends die for her? She fidgeted, trying to get loose, to just do _something_, but Toby's hold on her was too tight.

Spencer narrowed her eyes. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I guess you can't." Mona shrugged. "But everything in life is a risk. And you like to gamble, don't you, Spencer?"

"You're asking me to gamble with my friends' lives," Spencer pointed out.

Aria's knees felt weak; if Toby hadn't been holding her she probably would have slid to the floor. Spencer had used the word 'friends'. She thought of them as her friends. After everything that they'd gone through, maybe they were back to where they started. Spencer was on her side – only that might just get her killed. Aria was torn between elation and fear – for herself, for Spencer, for the girls. She could see no way for this to end well. Maybe she was never meant to get her happy ending.

"It's your choice, Spencer," Mona said. "And we haven't got all day, so you should make your decision quickly."

"Spencer," Toby spoke up, seeing her hesitation, "please just do the right thing. Everything I've done – pretending to be friends with the girls, having Aria run over – was so I could protect you."

"Protect me from what, Toby?" Spencer demanded. "The only danger I see here is you. You're the one with a gun -"

"He's not the only one," Mona reminded her, and in a flash she'd whipped the gun up and was pointing it at Spencer.

Aria stiffened. Mona and Toby were crazy, and they would have no hesitation in killing her – they'd already tried, after all. Spencer was on her side, but that didn't make her feel any better. It just meant they were both likely to die. While Spencer and Mona had their standoff, Aria focused on Toby. He had a firm grip on her, but he'd lowered the gun a little. It wasn't much of an opening, but if she could just get him to let go, she might be able to get control of the gun.

"Mona, think this through," Spencer cautioned. "You don't want to -"

The raven-haired girl fired off a warning shot. It smashed through the window, shattering the glass; Aria jumped so much that it made Toby tighten his grip. She sucked in a deep breath. Things were not looking good.

"All right." Spencer lifted her hands above her head, as much to indicate she was unarmed as to remind Mona that she was in control and therefore didn't need to do anything rash. "Let's just stop and think about this."

"We could," Mona mused, "or we could just get on with it. Time's ticking, Spencer. You can't sit on the fence for much longer. What's your decision?"

Silence settled over all of them. There was no easy way out of this. Aria met Spencer's eyes, but she couldn't read her expression. She thought her heart would break out of her chest, that is if she didn't faint first. For a moment she wondered if it would be better if Spencer was still on the A-Team. She might've been against her then, but at least she would be alive.

"Mona, I - I don't know," Spencer said, hanging her head. This was so different to the last time Aria had been in this situation; Spencer looked so unsure, and that scared Aria almost as much as it had when she'd been the one holding a knife to her throat.

"Fine," Mona said with chilling calmness, "you don't want to make this decision, we'll make it for you. Toby, kill Aria."

Aria heard the gun click and she closed her eyes. This was how it was going to end. Her life didn't flash before her eyes, but a hundred emotions flashed through her heart. Sadness, anger, despair, and finally something that felt like acceptance. This was just finishing what had been started the night she'd been run over. She'd die for Spencer, and maybe, in some strange way, that was okay.

"No, wait!"

Aria's eyes flew open and she saw Spencer moving forward. She'd made her choice, and in that moment everything changed. They all understood what had happened, and it took all of them by surprise – even Spencer, who stopped suddenly, her eyes widening in shock.

"So that's your choice?" Mona asked. "What a shame. I'd hoped you'd come around, but I suppose it's best to cull the weak ones from the herd."

"When we met in the diner the other day," Spencer said, her voice trembling but growing more sure as she kept speaking, "you told me to prove my loyalty. That's what I'm doing. I can never make up for what I've done, but maybe I can do something right for a change. If killing me is what it takes, then go ahead, Mona. You've already taken everything else."

In the brief second before everything fell apart, Aria felt her heart swell. Spencer had chosen her. After all they'd been through, after all she'd done to her, Spencer still cared about her. It wasn't a solution, it didn't erase all the horrible things she'd done, but it was a start. But before she had time to come to terms with this new discovery, everything exploded.

Aria felt herself being flung sideways, and she hit the ground with a thud as a gun went off somewhere above her head. A scream was torn from her throat as she heard someone cry out, and then there was a thump as another body hit the ground. She pressed her face against the cold wooden floor, trying to stay out of the way.

A few moments passed. The action seemed to be over. She looked up, not sure what to expect. Mona was crumpled on the ground, blood seeping from her chest. Toby stood near the door, gun still pointed at Mona, his eyes hard as flint. Spencer was a few feet away from Mona, her mouth open in shock.

"T-Toby," she whispered. "You -"

"I did it for you," Toby said earnestly. "She was going to kill you, Spencer. I had no choice."

"I'm not… I mean… thank you." She ran a hand through her hair, still shaking, then crouched down and checked Mona's pulse. She looked up at the others and slowly shook her head.

A jolt of temporary relief hit Aria, until she realized that this didn't even solve anything. Toby still had a gun, and she didn't know whose side he was on – well, he was on Spencer's, but that didn't mean she was safe. Toby would do anything to protect Spencer, and if he thought killing Aria would help, he'd do it without thinking twice.

"It's over, Toby," Spencer said gently, moving towards him. "Just… just give me the gun, okay? You don't have to -"

"Do what?" he asked, swinging the gun around to point it at Aria. "Spencer, can't you see what she's done to you? She's taken you from me. I need to get you back, and -"

"Toby, no."

Aria watched as Spencer approached him, cautiously reaching for the gun. He hesitated briefly before releasing his grip on it, but he was still glaring daggers at Aria.

"You haven't lost me," Spencer assured him. "I'm still right here. I'm yours, and I always will be."

He flicked his eyes away from Aria and focused on Spencer. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course." She leaned forward and kissed him, and Aria squeezed her eyes shut tight, unable to stand what was happening. Mona was dead. Spencer was still with Toby. Emily and Hanna were god knows where, and she was still lying here on the ground, having escaped death again – for now. "I'm your girl, and I'm going to stay that way. But there are some things I need to do. We need to figure out what to do with Mona's body, and the rest of this stuff in here."

"And we need to figure out what to do with her," Toby muttered, jerking his head towards Aria, who tried not to flinch.

Spencer walked over to Aria, who was still trying to process everything. Aria stayed where she was, watching Spencer's shoes and listening to the gentle clicking as she quickly crossed the space between them. Spencer bent down and offered her hand. Numb, Aria took it, and Spencer pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you for not giving up on me," Spencer said quietly, still holding her hand.

Aria couldn't help but realize that this was the first time they'd had any physical contact since the night of the gala. She'd missed this, missed her friend so fiercely she could hardly bear it, and now it seemed like she had her back. Maybe things would be okay.

"And I'm really sorry about this," Spencer added.

Before Aria could even open her mouth, Spencer had let go, pulled her arm back, and swung as hard as she could. She hit Aria straight across the face, and Aria collapsed to the floor without a sound.

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**Disclaimer: I know I kill Mona a lot. Despite that I absolutely adore her; you guys know I'm not above killing off characters I love, if it's for the sake of the story. Please don't hate me.**


	22. Setting it straight

**And here we are, the end of a long and incredible journey you guys have taken with me. To everyone who reviewed, whether it was just once or every chapter: thank you so much. Your support and encouragement fuelled my motivation to finish this story, so I hope this final chapter doesn't disappoint. I'll keep the A/N short, but just know that I appreciate everything you guys have said, and I am so grateful to have had the chance to share this story with such amazing people, especially those who followed me all throughout A is for Arlene and stuck with me even though Spencer was evil. You guys rock.**

**SwanQueen4055 - thanks.**  
**Aerize - hopefully your emotions will settle down after this chapter. ;)**  
**Forever Courage - better Mona than Spencer or Aria, right? And about time Spencer came to her senses. :p**  
**Runawaybaby555 - Sparia Mona, at least for now. I love your reviews and I want to thank you again for all your help. Hope you like this last chapter.**  
**insertnameherex - thanks for, well, everything, on this story and others you've reviewed. I don't really do happily-ever-afters, so this is the closest you're gonna get. And don't worry, I love Spoby too, so if you want to talk about that, I'm game. And Taleb, oh my gosh, what a pair. Hope to hear from you soon. ;)**  
**Bagilia - I really need to work on not killing people. Er, in stories. But yes, I would kill off Wren if it had to happen. Heck, I'd kill off Spencer if it would help the plot. I'll try to write some more Spezra, just for you. :P**  
**Kendall - 'intense' is what I was going for, so I'm glad you liked it. :)**  
**Sgdp1261 - everyone loves Mona... but also Sparia. See my dilemma? :p I'm glad you like character deaths, because if you haven't noticed, I like them too - a lot. Thank you so much for all your reviews, and I hope to see you in future stories.**  
**ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - that happy Sparia ending does sound tempting... and sorry that there's no big mushy Sparia reunion/hug. I hope you like the way it does pan out though. And yes, I'll write more Sparia as soon as I can. :)**  
**simplykalx - thank you so much! I hope you like the chapter.**

**Okay. Here it is. The end. Really this time. No sequels, no plot twists, no unanswered questions (well, not too many). So, review, review, review (even if you're reading this wayyy after I've published it, I'll still get the alert and I guarantee it'll make my day). Enjoy, and thanks again.**

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"Let's go," Spencer said, unloading the gun and heading for the door. She forced herself not to look back.

Toby shot a glance at Aria, who was still unconscious and probably would be for a while, then dashed ahead of Spencer and unlocked the door. He led the way outside, and almost as soon as they were out they heard shouting in the distance.

"That must be the girls," Spencer said. "We should get out of here."

She grabbed Toby's hand and pulled him into the trees. They hurried away from the cabin as quickly as they could, although their progress was hindered by the low light and the dense scrub. Eventually they burst out of the trees, breathing heavily, and stopped to catch their breath.

"Thank you for what you did back there," Spencer panted, leaning against a tree and running a hand through her hair.

"You'd have done the same," Toby replied, although there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "What are we going to do about Aria?"

Spencer glanced back the way they'd come. "Emily and Hanna will find her before we could get back there," she said. "They'll get her out of there, but they won't call the police about Mona, not while we're still out there. They'll probably just pretend they were never there. We can go back and get Mona's body later."

"God, you've thought of everything," Toby said appreciatively, pulling her in for a kiss.

She let him kiss her for a moment, but ended it quickly. They had other things to worry about right now.

"Where's your car?" she asked, and he led her down another path, to a small clearing with his old beat-up truck sitting right in the center.

He held the door open for her, then climbed into the driver's seat and carefully navigated the way out of there. He didn't speak again until they were well on their way to town.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked, turning on the radio. He switched between a few stations until he finally settled on one that played classical music, which gave their conversation a nice background.

"You're going to drop me off at my house," Spence instructed, ignoring the hurt look that flashed across his face. "There are some things I need to do. You go back to the lair, wait for my signal. I'll call you when it's time to go take care of Mona's body."

He didn't look pleased, but he agreed to the plan anyway. As he pulled up outside Spencer's house, she unclasped her seatbelt, her fingers trembling.

"Spence, you're shaking," he said, reaching over and wrapping her hands up in his. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," she assured him, making sure to keep her voice steady. She looked into his bright blue eyes, remembering all that they'd been through, from him accusing her of killing Alison to her asking him to join the team, all the happiness and the heartache, all the –A plans they'd pulled together and all of the moments they'd spent together doing nothing at all. She wouldn't take any of it back, but it just made this moment even harder.

She leaned over and kissed him, long and passionate, unwilling to let him go. She needed a way to tell him how much he meant to her, how much she loved him, but words for once weren't sufficient. Finally she leaned back again, losing herself in his eyes, running a finger gently down his cheek. He had killed Mona for her, and she would never forget it.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too."

She opened the door and stepped out, turning back only to offer him a smile that she hoped would disorient him enough that he wouldn't notice her tears.

"I'll see you soon," she said, and then she all but ran up the path. She knew she would probably never see him again.

She waited until she heard his car turn the corner, and then she went back down the path and started walking further into town. This had been her final play, her last plan, and she hoped it had worked. When Toby had killed Mona, Spencer knew he'd turn his attention to Aria. So she'd tricked him into thinking she was going to help him get away with this. She'd stopped him from killing Aria, repaying her for saving her life. And just before she'd knocked Aria out – the only way she would have let them leave – she'd met her eyes, and she knew she understood. She'd done it for her.

When Aria woke up, most likely with Emily and Hanna there, she'd figure out exactly what happened. Maybe not right away, but eventually. Despite what she'd told Toby, she knew they would call the police, who would come and find Mona's body. They'd probably be able to trace it back to Toby, but by then he'd likely be long gone. When he realized she wasn't coming back, he'd take off. She'd ensured he'd have a head start; her way of paying him back for what he did to Mona. The police would catch up to him eventually, and then he'd have to pay for everything else he'd done. Once Aria figured out what had happened, she'd tell the police everything: what Spencer, Toby, and Mona had done, how they'd ended it, how Mona had died. She'd know that Spencer wasn't going to spill their secrets.

Rosewood seemed different at night. It wasn't sinister anymore; the A-Team was gone, Mona was dead, and Spencer was no longer in danger. She didn't have to play double agent, didn't have to question her loyalties. She'd do what she had to do. She wondered how her family would react when they found out. Her parents would be furious, and probably disown her on the spot. Melissa would probably laugh to herself; after what Spencer was going to do, their fight to be the favorite child would never be a problem again.

As Spencer walked, she thought about everything that had happened. She'd never thought she'd reach this point. After she'd killed Ali, she'd lost touch with her softer side. Unable to tell anyone what she'd done, she'd convinced herself she was different, better, so separate from everybody else that she didn't need to worry about their feelings. What did they matter to her? Being in charge of the A-Team had been fun, too. She knew it shouldn't have been, that it was absolutely horrible, but she couldn't deny that she'd loved the thrill of tormenting the girls. She loved being in control, staying one step ahead of them, playing the part of a concerned friend.

But somewhere along the way she'd stopped playing the part, and it had become part of who she was. Those girls would have done anything for her. They were flawed, sure, imperfect and often in the wrong, but they weren't bad people. They didn't deserve what Spencer had done to them, but then again, it had never been about what they deserved – it had been about what she wanted. She'd wanted to hurt them, but in the process she'd hurt herself too. In fact she'd hurt a whole slew of people who'd never done her wrong, and there was no way she could ever make up for it.

Maybe this way, at least, the girls could see that she was serious. She doubted they would ever speak to her again, but that was okay. As long as they knew that she'd done this for them, that she was trying to make amends.

She hurried up the steps, pushed open the door without giving herself time to think, and marched up to the desk. The man behind the counter looked up at her with bored eyes, but his expression grew sharper as he took in her appearance: wild eyes, ripped clothes, dirt-streaked cheeks.

"What's wrong, Miss?" he asked, shoving aside a pile of tissues and scrambling to find a notebook.

She took a deep breath. It was now or never. "My name is Spencer Hastings," she said, "and I have a confession to make."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**There you have it. The end of Salvation. Now, I'll take just a moment to shamelessly promote some of my other stories. At the moment I'm working on ****_Iridescence_****, a Spoby AU story; ****_Shiny_****, a PLL/Dollhouse crossover; and ****_Felix Culpa_****, a short Spemily tragedy. So if any of those sound interesting, check out my profile/subscribe to me and have a look. I'm also going to be working on some smaller pieces, including some Spanna, Spona, Wrencer, Sparia, Vandermarin, Jennily, and pretty much anything else that takes my fancy. So if you like my writing, stay tuned, and I hope to see you in some of my other stories. :)**


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